At Irrín, Kingfisher, Danya, Renfis, and Lorreth watch eight feeders standing unnaturally still across the Darn. When the feeders move, they crawl and then sprint in perfect unison across the ice, suggesting coordination rather than ordinary hunger. Kingfisher orders everyone to wait so they can study the creatures, but Renfis and Kingfisher prepare magic in case the feeders reach the midpoint.

When Renfis strikes two feeders with magic, the power does not destroy them; instead, the feeders absorb it, and the same glowing white energy spreads across all eight bodies. Kingfisher’s shadows are also pulled into them, leaving Kingfisher with a painful sense of loss and a lingering connection. Realizing the feeders can siphon magic, Kingfisher forbids the use of magic or Angel’s Breath and orders the warriors to fight with silver and blades alone.

The fight becomes chaotic because normal weaknesses do not stop the feeders. Nimerelle harms Kingfisher when its blade meets the altered feeder, silver-tipped arrows and blades fail, and the river no longer destroys the creatures. Kingfisher calls for fire, which ignites one feeder, but the burning creature keeps fighting and kills warriors until Kingfisher and Danya hold it down long enough for someone to behead it. Both Kingfisher and Danya are badly burned.

In the war tent, Te Léna heals Danya first because Danya’s injuries are life-threatening, leaving Kingfisher to endure painful burns with only salve until the healer’s magic replenishes. Renfis and Lorreth report that the feeders’ bodies and severed heads still remain active, with the heads trying to chew free. Renfis says he still feels the magic the feeders stole tugging at him, and Kingfisher admits feeling the same.

The brothers argue over who could have controlled the feeders. Renfis believes Taladaius is the only person capable of such power and accuses Kingfisher of continually defending him despite his past betrayals. Kingfisher insists Taladaius may have been cursed and forced to act, arguing that love and coercion complicate Taladaius’s choices.

After sunrise, Kingfisher, Renfis, and Lorreth inspect the devastated camp. Lorreth reports that one hundred and fourteen warriors died, an unprecedented loss at Irrín for an attack by only eight feeders. Kingfisher decides the dead will be taken through a portal to Cahlish for burial, while the corrupted bodies remain tied to a dying oak, showing that these altered feeders are something far worse than the enemy they knew.