Ravyn, the Nightmare, and Jespyr are thrown back beneath the twin alders into a much colder, snow-covered night. The trees reveal that twenty-four days have passed while Ravyn used the Twin Alders Card, and that it is now Solstice: the long night when the Deck must be united by midnight. Realizing time is nearly gone, the Nightmare carries unconscious Jespyr and leads a desperate flight from the alderwood.

The group races through the hostile forest, fighting branches, thorns, beasts, exhaustion, and hunger. Ravyn understands that the true urgency is not escape but beating the clock, because Emory will not survive another year without the Deck united. After they emerge near the aspen grove, Ravyn remembers Petyr and worries that even reaching Castle Yew will not be enough, because the Scythe Card is still missing.

Jespyr briefly wakes and touches Ravyn’s injured face, and her touch seems to take away the pain and swelling before she falls unconscious again. The Nightmare refuses to give Jespyr to Ravyn and insists on carrying her. Ravyn and the Nightmare continue west through the day and into night, pushing beyond endurance until they reach the black lake that separates them from Castle Yew.

Before they can swim, Petyr and Ione arrive on Elm’s horse. Petyr is relieved to find Ravyn alive and takes Jespyr from the Nightmare, while Ione asks after Elspeth and then reveals the Scythe Card in her hand. She explains that Hauth has healed himself with the Maiden Card, murdered the King, framed Elm, and kept Elm at Stone, likely to bargain for the Twin Alders. Ione escaped because Elm compelled her to flee, became lost in the wood, and was eventually found by masked women and her family before meeting Petyr, who had returned to bury Wik.

With Ione’s Scythe Card and the Cards hidden in the Nightmare’s chamber, the group now has access to all twelve Cards, but six remain at Castle Yew and midnight is approaching. They cross the freezing lake with Jespyr on Elm’s horse, and Ravyn nearly drowns when both legs cramp before forcing himself ashore. The cleaved path through the wood remains open, and they reach the meadow near Castle Yew, only to smell smoke and hear Hauth’s voice outside. The Nightmare stops Ravyn and, pleased by the timing, urges Ravyn to listen to his plan.