Saeris exits the shadow gate at Inishtar expecting safety, but instead arrives on a smoke-choked hill above a town under attack. Fae warriors are fighting feeders, fires rage through the grass and buildings, and Hayden collapses from the strain of travel. Saeris reaches him, then is forced into combat as both older and freshly turned feeders attack.

Saeris fights her way through the chaos, using the twin god swords to kill feeders while searching for Hayden and Fisher. Foley appears and saves Saeris with a flail after Saeris discovers her Blood Court command has no effect on these attackers. Foley confirms Fisher did not come through the gate, and Saeris realizes something is deeply wrong because Fisher does not answer through their bond.

Foley finds Hayden unconscious but alive, and Saeris regroups with Lorreth and Carrion. Lorreth reports that Te Léna, Maynir, Everlayne, Zovena, and Iseabail were sent into town, while Tal refused to leave the fight and vanished into a pack of feeders. Saeris checks Edina’s book at the white cliffs for guidance about Fisher, but instead of an answer finds only another instruction: Read on after the trade.

The group moves through the devastated town of Inishtar, where satyr families mourn the dead and homes are shattered. Following Lorreth’s scent trail, they reach Orellis’s cliffside house, where Te Léna, Iseabail, and Maynir have taken shelter; Everlayne remains unconscious upstairs. Maynir explains that Zovena ran off into the crowd, and Saeris tells the others Fisher did not make it through the shadow gate.

Later, with the windows boarded, the survivors assess their situation. Orellis offers an old forge, but Saeris cannot make the protective relics without quicksilver, and Iseabail’s scrying finds no trace of either Ren or Fisher. Tension rises when Lorreth suspects Iseabail of holding back, but Saeris refocuses the group on helping Inishtar, finding Fisher, and understanding the attack.

The group concludes the feeders were freshly turned Zilvarens and could not have reached Inishtar through known quicksilver pools or ordinary travel. Carrion suggests Madra has found another way between realms, and Saeris connects Foley’s earlier research about circular magic to Zilvaren’s wheel-shaped design. Saeris realizes the city itself is likely a vast sigil Madra has used to siphon power for centuries, giving Madra the ability to open portals and send feeders anywhere; Iseabail says warding against such magic would require powerful witches, Fae wielders, and something deeply personal of Madra’s, and Saeris resolves to gather what is needed and find Fisher.