Chaol wakes in the necropolis beneath the Torre with his body aching from restored use rather than injury. Nesryn and Sartaq have arrived after receiving Chaol’s note and following the Torre cats through the tunnels; they brought healers, though nearly every healer in the Torre came of her own will. Hafiza is alive but weakened, Duva remains unconscious despite the Valg ring, and Sartaq thanks Yrene for sparing his sister.

Chaol notices Yrene is bleeding, but the greater revelation is the price of saving him. Hafiza explains that Chaol had been too close to death and too badly broken to restore without a balancing cost: Chaol’s life is now bound to Yrene’s, and when one dies, the other will die as well. Some damage to Chaol’s spine remains permanent, meaning Yrene’s magic will brace him when she is strong, but when Yrene is tired or drained Chaol may need a cane or his chair.

Yrene is devastated that Chaol is not fully healed, but Chaol insists that using a chair or cane is not a punishment and does not diminish him. Hafiza warns that the true burden of the bond is not fearing one’s own death but knowing what it would do to the other. Despite the danger, Yrene declares that they must go to war against Erawan, because Duva’s possession shows what he will do if unchecked.

Chaol recognizes a new bond between Nesryn and Sartaq, and he and Nesryn silently make peace with the end of what lay between them. Chaol embraces Nesryn, thanking her, and Nesryn thanks Chaol for bringing her to Antica. Yrene embraces Nesryn as well, and the group leaves the tomb alive, carrying the weight of their discoveries but also renewed purpose.

Sartaq brings unconscious Duva before the khagan and summons his siblings because Yrene, Chaol, and Hafiza insist the royal family must hear the truth. Sartaq reveals that Duva has been enslaved by a demon in Perrington’s wedding gift, and Chaol explains that Perrington is Erawan, the Valg king. Arghun rejects the claim, but Hafiza supports it with the authority of the Torre and the many witnesses.

Kashin realizes Duva’s altered behavior now makes sense and asks whether she killed Tumelun. Chaol confirms that the demon confessed, while emphasizing that Duva fought against it. Chaol and Nesryn warn the khagan that Morath’s threat has already reached the southern continent, including the kharankui stirring in the south. The khagan orders Yrene to save Duva, and Yrene approaches the princess, understanding this as a final and larger test of her healing gift, and begins.