Nesryn wakes to sharp nips and realizes Falkan is chewing through the silk binding her, not attacking her. She is in a moonlit covered stretch of the pass, surrounded by polished stone marked with ancient carvings. Nearby, Sartaq lies wrapped in silk from foot to neck, bloodied but still breathing.

As Falkan works to free her, Nesryn tries to stay calm and assess their surroundings. A larger, darker kharankui appears, forcing Nesryn to keep the spider talking so Falkan can continue cutting the bindings. The spider speaks Halha and asks what Nesryn and her companions sought in the forgotten places.

Nesryn improvises a lie that a merchant sent them after being disappointed by the stygian spiders and hoping to trade with the kharankui. The spider reacts with contempt toward the stygian spiders, calling them blood kin but not true sisters, and says the kharankui have no interest in trade except feeding on humans. The spider also reveals that the kharankui taste their victims’ dreams and years before killing them, which makes Nesryn fear for Sartaq’s condition.

When Nesryn asks what the kharankui do in the pass, the spider points to a wall carving. Nesryn sees an etched gate with a female figure standing inside it. The spider says the kharankui are waiting for their queen to return.

Nesryn assumes this might mean Erawan, but the spider rejects him with disgust. The kharankui reveals that they serve the Queen of the Valg, who in this world calls herself Maeve, exposing Maeve as a far more dangerous and ancient enemy than Nesryn had understood.