Chapter Thirty-Six

Nesta dons the Mask and summons an army of the dead to defeat the kelpie that attacked her in the bog. Cassian and Azriel witness her transformation into a death-wielding force and bow before her power. She collapses after removing the Mask and loses consciousness.

Nesta emerges from the water wearing the ancient Mask, her body no longer subject to pain or the need for air. She senses thousands of long-dead bodies buried in the bog—warriors and kings preserved in armor, victims of the kelpie's hunger. The Mask's magic flows through her like a cold song, and she embraces it fully. When the kelpie attacks her, she calls upon the dead to fight for her. Skeletal hands grip the creature as corpses rise from the murky bottom in formation, some in rusted armor, and converge on the kelpie. She allows the Mask's power to flow through her without mercy, commanding the dead to rip the creature to shreds. Meanwhile, Cassian and Azriel search the black water frantically after finding evidence of her attack. They spot golden light beneath the surface and watch in awe and terror as an entire legion of armed dead rises from the water—skeletal warriors, some mere bones and others half-preserved, all bearing ancient armor. Nesta emerges lifted on a pillar of water, wearing the golden Mask, holding the kelpie's severed head by its black hair. The dead kneel before her, bound entirely to her will. Cassian and Azriel, recognizing the primal power of Death itself, lower themselves in bow. Nesta then removes the Mask; the dead vanish beneath the surface instantly and she collapses. Cassian retrieves her from the water just before she sinks. On shore, she clutches the Mask like a child, shaking violently, before losing consciousness.