Chapter 13

Raeve witnesses Kaan being rowed toward an anthe creature in the sacred lake and must make an impossible choice. She channels the Water Goddess Rayne's song—a language of grief and sorrow that nearly breaks her—to intervene and draw the anthe's attention away from Kaan and the others drowning in the water.

Raeve watches in horror as Kaan rows a boat toward the water, with Pyrok and a prisoner aboard. When bells signal the anthe's emergence, Raeve charms Clode the air spirit into pushing the boats toward shore, but Clode overzealously smashes them into the rocks, dumping all three males into the lake. The anthe—a hauntingly beautiful, multlimbed creature—glides through the water toward the floundering men with lethal intent. Faced with the certainty that Kaan will die, Raeve dives inward to access her inner frozen lake, where she finds a tear-shaped crystal. Attempting to use it, she is overwhelmed by Rayne's mournful melody, a song of devastating grief that nearly paralyzes her. Despite the emotional agony, Raeve surfaces, steps into the water, and begins singing Rayne's broken, unfamiliar song—a language she can barely shape with her mouth. As she sings, the anthe stops its pursuit and listens to her instead of attacking the drowning men.