Chapter Thirty-Two

Cassian, Nesta, and Azriel depart the river house for the Bog of Oorid to search for the Mask. After traveling via Azriel's shadows, they arrive in the oppressive, lifeless bog and begin their aerial search, but Azriel mysteriously vanishes as they enter a dense mist in the northern section.

At the river house, Cassian prepares to depart for Oorid with Nesta and Azriel while Rhys and Feyre express concern. Nesta, outfitted with a dagger and sheaths by Cassian, exchanges a knowing look with Azriel about Cassian's casual attitude toward the danger ahead. Nesta notes Elain's continued distance from her, choosing to remain upstairs. Feyre warns them about the Middle's hazards before Azriel shadows them to Oorid. The bog is revealed to be a place of profound desolation—black water, dead trees, no insects or birds, and an oppressive silence that unnerves even Azriel. Cassian explains that the bog was used for water burials and warns of ancient creatures: kelpies (shape-shifting water predators that drown and consume flesh), witches (former beings transformed by their hunger for magic who drink young blood), and lightsingers (ethereal creatures that lure victims with false appearances before drowning them). Azriel explains the Middle falls under no High Lord's jurisdiction and serves as a repository for unwanted creatures, who are left untended but protected from being hunted. As they fly in search of the Mask, Cassian circles the western expanse while Nesta attempts to sense its location. Entering a thick mist in the northern section, Nesta senses something present—but when Cassian turns to signal Azriel, the shadowsinger is no longer beside them.