Ravyn rides to the ancient chamber at Castle Yew after a sleepless night haunted by Elspeth Spindle's revelations about the Shepherd King. Using the Mirror Card to make himself invisible, Ravyn digs at the base of a stone in the chamber, searching for proof that the impossible story Elspeth told him is true.

Ravyn finds disturbed soil, an old grave marker, and a buried sword with an ornate hilt. Beneath the sword, Ravyn uncovers a human spine, confirming that the Shepherd King's body is truly buried there. The discovery forces Ravyn to accept that the Shepherd King is dead, yet somehow his soul persists inside Elspeth, the woman Ravyn loves.

Outside beneath the yew tree, Ravyn is confronted by a young ghost named Tilly, whose yellow eyes match the Shepherd King's. Realizing the Mirror Card has let Ravyn see beyond the veil, Ravyn questions Tilly. Tilly reveals that the Shepherd King is her father and that his family remains scattered as spirits around Castle Yew, waiting for him because he promised to find them after death.

Tilly recounts seeing Ravyn visit the chamber with Elspeth and later seeing Elspeth return alone with yellow-gold eyes, humming the Shepherd King's songs while digging at his grave. This makes Ravyn understand that Elspeth's fear in the chamber was not of him, but of the presence and power she carried inside herself.

When Ravyn asks how Tilly died, Tilly says she was killed before her father and brothers and names her killer as Rowan. Ravyn connects the name to his own royal family and the King's insignia. Tilly then explains that the Shepherd King is waiting until his task is done: to restore balance, free Blunder from the Rowans, and collect what he is owed.