Chapter 67

Feysand and their allies prepare for the final battle against Hybern by evacuating human families from his path and devising a plan to use the Cauldron against him. After winnowing humans to safety throughout the night, Feysand realizes the cost of their strategy and secretly travels to the Court of Nightmares to seek out the Bone Carver and Bryaxis, willing to pay any price to buy her loved ones a chance at survival.

The chapter opens with the group's strategy to defeat Hybern: they will use the Cauldron's power, with multiple Made fae sharing its lethal load, to bind the king and his army. Amren has located a spell from the Book that will nullify the person controlling the Cauldron rather than the Cauldron itself. They plan to strike when Hybern is distracted during the chaos of battle. That night, Feysand and other winnowers evacuate human families from Hybern's path. Feysand returns to her old mortal village, where some recognize her and accept help while others panic and resist until Rhysand forcibly winnows them to safety in a forest near Adriata, where Cresseida organizes them. The process continues throughout the night with every High Lord and noble capable of winnowing, until exhaustion forces even Rhysand to collapse. As Feysand watches her mate sleep, she acknowledges the unspoken truth: many of them will not survive the coming battle. Her loved ones will fight and die to buy time while she, Amren, and her sisters attempt to reach the Cauldron. Feysand realizes Amren has not mentioned Bryaxis, and decides the cost is worth it if it buys her friends even a sliver of survival. She winnows north alone to the Court of Nightmares, finding a winding staircase that leads upward into darkness toward the Ouroboros—the Mirror of Beginnings and Endings—and begins her ascent despite the thousand steps ahead.