Chaol reports to the king about security for the arriving carnival while struggling with his attraction to Celaena and reminding himself that his loyalty belongs to the king and Dorian. The king then orders Chaol to watch Princess Nehemia more closely, claiming there has been an anonymous threat against her life, but forbids Chaol from warning Nehemia or anyone else. Chaol obeys, deciding that his duty as Captain of the Guard must come before his friendship with Nehemia or Celaena.

Dorian, sleepless and shaken by the possible magic he unleashed the day before, exhausts himself sparring in the barracks. Roland approaches and apologizes for supporting the Calaculla expansion, saying he called off the vote after Dorian objected. Dorian remains wary but considers using Roland as a political ally against the king and Perrington’s schemes.

Dorian wanders into the courtyard where the queen’s carnival for Hollin is being set up. Chaol finds him there with Celaena, and the three move through the tents, performers, and cages. At a fortune-teller’s wagon, an old woman calling herself Baba Yellowlegs reveals iron teeth and claims to be the lastborn witch of the Witch Kingdom; Celaena is visibly terrified, while Chaol challenges the crone and Dorian urges them away.

From Celaena’s perspective, the encounter with Baba Yellowlegs leaves her shaken because the witch feels genuinely otherworldly and recalls childhood nightmares and old stories of Ironteeth witches. Celaena also feels an unexplained pull toward the witch’s wagon, and her amulet grows warm and heavy, linking the experience to earlier supernatural signs.

Dorian brings Celaena and Chaol to the royal stables, where he gives Chaol a black Asterion stallion as an early birthday gift. Celaena recalls stealing an Asterion mare named Kasida from the Lord of Xandria, briefly easing the tension among them. When Celaena mentions that she and Chaol already have birthday plans, Dorian is hurt, and Celaena leaves them, troubled by the witch’s warning about fate.

Back in her rooms, Celaena decides to return alone to Elena’s tomb despite Nehemia’s warning. She suspects the amulet may matter after all, because the eye-shaped hole in the wall seems designed to fit it exactly.