As Morath’s unnatural darkness gathers on the horizon, Aelin recognizes the danger of the trap she has set but refuses to show fear. Her goal is larger than winning Rolfe’s fleet: Aelin wants the world to see her as a force powerful enough to punish those who abandoned Terrasen and dangerous enough to make future allies reconsider staying neutral.

Rolfe boards the Sea Dragon, while Aedion and Dorian ride to separate watchtowers. Aelin gives Lysandra a quiet command and withholds any public display of affection so Rolfe and the watching Mycenians see only calculation and command. Rowan, Fenrys, and Gavriel join Aelin aboard Rolfe’s ship, and Aelin orders iron chains fastened to the mast so the iron can tether her when Aelin and Rowan unleash their magic.

The Sea Dragon rows toward the harbor mouth and the lowered Ship-Breaker chain. At Aelin’s signal, Lysandra drops into the water. Instead of resurfacing as a woman, Lysandra transforms beneath the waves into a vast jade sea dragon, fulfilling the Mycenian prophecy that the sea dragons’ return would herald the Mycenians’ return. Rolfe and his men are stunned, and their fear begins to turn into awe.

From his watchtower, Aedion prepares the giant harpoon and sees the enormous shape moving through the bay. Aedion realizes Lysandra has been studying the temple carvings so she could become a living sea dragon, and that Aelin’s visit to Brannon’s temple served this purpose as well as political ones. Aedion understands the brilliance and danger of Aelin and Lysandra’s plan: the mythical creature is meant to defend Skull’s Bay and inspire Rolfe’s people.

Underwater, Lysandra experiences the sea dragon body and the ancient, sensory world beneath the surface. Lysandra remembers studying the carvings at Aelin’s request, knowing that myth could rally the Mycenians more effectively than coercion alone. As Lysandra reaches the reef beyond Ship-Breaker, Lysandra prepares to fight Morath’s sea-wyverns without mercy, surrendering to the beast’s instincts and beginning her vigil before the coming battle.