Yrene tries to touch the darkness in Chaol’s spine and immediately triggers devastating pain. The reaction convinces her that the force inside him does not merely resist her magic but hates it. Yrene clarifies that Chaol’s spine is truly injured, with damaged nerves and vertebrae, but the shadow blocks her from reaching and repairing them.

Yrene explains that healing Chaol will require fighting the dark echo while also repairing his body, likely vertebra by vertebra, and that Chaol must remain conscious and resist it too. Because the thing may be feeding on something inside him, Yrene presses Chaol to discuss the recent events and self-loathing that might sustain it. Chaol refuses, insisting there is nothing to discuss, and chooses to endure the physical agony instead.

Yrene warns Chaol again that the treatment will be brutal and offers him a leather bit. Rather than speak about his past, Chaol puts the bit in his mouth, signaling that he is willing to suffer through the healing but not yet willing to confront the emotional wounds Yrene believes are tied to it.

Meanwhile, Nesryn meets Prince Sartaq before dawn in his aerie and accepts his invitation to ride his golden ruk, Kadara. The flight terrifies Nesryn at first, but as Kadara rises over Antica and the surrounding lands, Nesryn is overwhelmed by the beauty and vastness of the continent. The experience strengthens her sense that this land is also her home and makes her question why her father ever left it for Adarlan.

During the flight, Sartaq and Nesryn speak privately about Rifthold, Aelin, Dorian, and the politics of the khagan’s court. Sartaq admits that he is willing to hear Nesryn and Chaol’s case, though he does not hold absolute sway with his father. He explains the dangerous dynamics among his siblings, his concern for Kashin, and the complications of succession.

Sartaq then reveals that he knows about the break-in at the Torre library and the healer murdered by a vile power that left her a husk. Nesryn realizes this connects to Yrene’s research for Chaol but lies, withholding the truth about the Valg and their larger mission. After Kadara kills a monstrous river creature, Sartaq warns Nesryn that his father’s lands contain beauty but also hidden dangers.