For three days after Juniper’s murder, Isla stays hidden in the Place of Mirrors, convinced Cleo will come for Isla next. Isla believes Cleo intercepted the message from Juniper or otherwise learned what he was about to reveal, making his death proof that his information mattered.

Restless and feeling useless while Wild Isle continues to die, Isla begins running through the Mainland forest to clear her mind. At a cliff at dusk, Isla reflects on her dead mother, the Wildling curse, and the impossible choice between killing a beloved or dying. Isla admits she understands her mother’s refusal and briefly rejects the idea that lacking powers makes Isla weak.

On the way back, Isla spots Cleo moving through the night and decides to follow instead of remaining afraid. Isla knows Carmel, the mandatory seventy-fifth-day celebration, will soon force Isla out of hiding anyway. While trailing Cleo, Isla realizes Moonlings have suffered least from the curses and concludes Cleo may have spun them herself, giving Moon Isle a curse that would not truly weaken Cleo’s realm.

Isla follows Cleo across the unguarded Moon Isle bridge and through the snowy forest. Cleo passes her palace and reaches an ice-coated mountain, where Cleo uses Moonling power to melt open a hidden passage. Before Isla can get close enough to see more, Cleo’s dark-blue bird attacks and screeches an alarm, revealing Isla’s presence.

Cleo hurls Isla against the mountain with water that freezes into ice, pinning Isla in place. Isla accuses Cleo of killing Juniper and spinning the curses, but Cleo only mocks Isla’s powerlessness and says corpses cannot reveal secrets or break curses. Cleo then disappears into the icy passage, leaving Isla trapped.

As the cold takes over, Isla moves from sadness to fear to anger, blaming her mother for leaving Isla powerless. Isla remembers Grim’s necklace and tries to touch it to summon Grim, but Cleo’s ice around Isla’s throat prevents Isla from reaching it. Isla realizes Grim cannot come at night anyway, and that by morning Isla will likely be dead.