Ravyn rides from Stone to Castle Yew with Gorse and the Nightmare occupying Elspeth’s body, pushing the horses hard to avoid the Nightmare’s taunts. The haunted atmosphere of Castle Yew seems to still when the Nightmare enters, and Gorse withdraws to the east wing.

Ravyn’s parents, Morette and Fenir, and the steward Jon Thistle meet Ravyn. Ravyn confirms that Jespyr and Emory arrived safely and that Emory has been released, but Morette understands the cost: King Rowan intends to use Elspeth’s blood to unite the Deck on Solstice. Ravyn insists that both Emory and Elspeth will be safe, though the statement reads as determination rather than certainty.

At the armory, Ravyn tells his highwaymen Petyr and Wik Ivy that Ravyn, Jespyr, Gorse, and the Shepherd King will leave at dawn for the Twin Alders. Wik immediately volunteers, and Petyr jokes to steady the mood, though Ravyn warns that the ancient wood may hold dangers no one has faced in centuries.

Ravyn spends the rest of the day at Emory’s bedside, reading to him and keeping the room overly warm to bring color to Emory’s face. After Jespyr takes over the vigil, Ravyn finds the Nightmare in the meadow near the ruins behind Castle Yew, holding an old golden crown dug from the earth. Ravyn returns the Shepherd King’s sword, then confronts the Nightmare with what Tilly told him: the Shepherd King’s children have waited five hundred years, and the Shepherd King’s goal involves revenge and unfinished truths in the wood.

Ravyn presses the Nightmare about the plan after recovering the Twin Alders Card. The Nightmare says only that he promised Ravyn’s uncle blood to unite the Deck, while Ravyn distrusts him. The Nightmare instructs Ravyn to bring the Maiden Card, saying only that they should pray they do not need it. Ravyn also reveals that he found the Mirror and Nightmare Cards in the old chamber as a child after bleeding on the stone, but the Nightmare goes strangely still when asked who placed them there.

Using the Nightmare Card, Ravyn tries to search the Nightmare’s mind for Elspeth. The Nightmare snaps back, throws Ravyn down, and puts the sword to Ravyn’s throat, warning that Ravyn must be invited into Elspeth’s mind. When Ravyn demands that Elspeth be released, the Nightmare claims calling Elspeth into his mind would hurt her and accuses Ravyn of not understanding true loss of control. The Nightmare ends by warning Ravyn that Ravyn will learn what it means to lose himself in the wood.