Chapter 23

Feyre and Cassian visit the Bone Carver in his prison cell to ask for his aid in the coming war. The Carver reveals himself to be an ancient death-god who has deliberately imprisoned himself to hide from his far more powerful siblings—the Weaver and Koschei—and refuses to leave his cell. He agrees to help only if they bring him a specific artifact: the Ouroboros mirror currently in Keir's possession.

Feyre and Cassian approach the Carver with an offer of aid in exchange for his battlefield gifts. The Carver refuses better living conditions, explaining he chose imprisonment long ago. He reveals his true nature: he is a death-god, one of three siblings who fell into this world tens of thousands of years ago. His siblings—the Weaver (formerly called Stryga) and Koschei—are death-gods far more powerful than himself. The Weaver feeds on life to maintain her youth and beauty; Koschei is bound to his lake on the continent. An ancient Fae warrior, whose bloodline is now forgotten, managed to contain them but could not kill them. The Carver deliberately hid himself away to avoid his siblings' notice, preferring imprisonment to the danger they represent. When Feyre presses him, the Carver makes a cryptic reference to Keir and the Hewn City, then reveals his price: the Ouroboros, a mirror that once belonged to the Weaver and now resides in Keir's household. The mirror is described as a window to the world capable of revealing all things. If they retrieve it, the Carver will agree to aid them, provided they can find a way to free him from his cell. After leaving, Feyre and Cassian discuss their observations. Cassian admits he and Rhys suspected the Carver was a death-god based on his nature and his connection to carving deaths into bone. Cassian hints he wanted to observe the Carver partly because of unexplained power he sensed in Nesta. They discuss whether they would fear Nesta if she possessed death-related power; Cassian declares he would never fear her. Rhys then arrives to winnow them away, and Cassian warns that Feyre will need strong bargaining skills for the evening ahead with Keir.