Chapter Thirty-Three

Cassian rescues Nesta from the mist after discovering Azriel under attack by two dozen Autumn Court soldiers, one of whom has shot an ash arrow through Azriel's wing. Cassian deposits Nesta in a tree and returns to aid Azriel in battle. Alone and anxious, Nesta eventually descends from the tree and approaches the bog's edge, where she encounters something strange in her reflection.

Cassian and Nesta search the mist for Azriel and spot his blue Siphons flaring below. They discover Azriel engaged with approximately two dozen Autumn Court soldiers; one has shot an ash arrow through his wing, severely limiting his power. Cassian flies Nesta away from the conflict and deposits her on a sturdy tree branch in the bog, ordering her to remain there. He returns to the skirmish, entering a free fall from above the mist to attack the soldiers from an unexpected angle. Left alone, Nesta waits anxiously, her body growing numb from clinging to the branch. Fears about Cassian's safety—recalling his previous near-fatal injuries in battles against Hybern—mount as time passes. Unable to bear the helplessness, Nesta carefully descends the tree branch by branch, her fingers splintering against the dead wood. Once on the mossy ground, she approaches the bog's black water, remembering her mother's claims of a faerie drowning a cousin. A gentle, serene female voice urges her to run, but Nesta resists the impulse. As she stares at her reflection in the still water, she sees a pair of night-dark eyes staring back at her from within the reflection.