Celaena reaches Elena’s tomb after realizing the clue is an anagram. Mort confirms that the inscription means “I Am the First,” pointing to the first of the three Wyrdkeys hidden in Elena’s crown, exactly as the riddle suggests.

Celaena opens the blue jewel in the crown and finds a small hidden compartment, but it is empty. The discovery confirms that the king found the Wyrdkey before her. Mort explains that the king was barely twenty when he came searching through forbidden places and took something Mort did not then understand.

Mort says the king later returned after becoming king, likely searching for the other Wyrdkeys. Celaena reasons that if the king had all three, he would already control the Wyrdgate completely, so Mort suspects he lacks at least one. Mort also points out that magic vanished when the king began his conquest, leading Celaena to conclude that the king used one or possibly two Wyrdkeys to suppress all magic except his own—and, by extension, Dorian’s.

Overwhelmed by the scale of what Elena wanted her to learn, Celaena thinks of Nehemia and the plan Nehemia must have had. Grief and desperation push Celaena toward a dangerous idea: using Wyrdmarks to open a temporary portal to another realm where the dead might dwell, so she can speak to Nehemia, ask about the keys, and finally say goodbye.

Mort warns Celaena to stop, but Celaena takes Damaris and leaves the tomb, planning to gather The Walking Dead, weapons, candles, and enough space in the secret tunnels to cast the spell. Elsewhere, Dorian dreams of Gavin, the first King of Adarlan, who warns that a forbidden line is about to be crossed and that Celaena and the castle are in danger. Dorian wakes, arms himself, and runs toward Celaena’s rooms as instructed.