Feyre and Lucien emerge from the cave into the Autumn Court with their blades drawn, but no sentries are waiting. Feyre is shaken by how helpless she feels without her magic, and she follows Lucien through the forest until nightfall, when he leads her to an old hunting cave he once used. There, Lucien finally confronts her about having deceived Tamlin and him for so long. Their argument turns bitter as Lucien accuses Feyre of using him to reach Elain, while Feyre accuses Lucien of helping only because Elain is his mate. Feyre admits she considered killing Tamlin, but decided that letting his court collapse around him would punish him more and would avoid worsening the coming war.

Neither of them truly sleeps. At dawn, Feyre finds that her powers are still smothered by faebane and that Rhys has not reached her through the bond. Lucien warns that going straight north will take them through Beron’s territory, but Feyre refuses to lose time by detouring and insists they continue directly onward. They discard the rest of the tainted food, fish for trout, and begin the long march in wary silence.

Over the next five days, Lucien guides Feyre through the Autumn Court and around the Forest House, explaining its scale and the layers of sentries protecting Beron’s seat. Feyre grows increasingly exhausted from hunger, cold, and lack of sleep, and she worries that Rhys cannot sense her because the faebane has dulled the bond. During a brief rest by an apple tree, Lucien speaks more openly about his place in his family. He says that as the youngest son he was overlooked, which gave him freedom to study, train, and learn from the people of the land, but also made him a target for his brothers.

As they pass through the barley fields, Feyre asks why Autumn’s people would betray him. Lucien reveals that Jesminda had been one of those common people, and that after he failed to protect her, many of them saw him as having betrayed their trust as well. By late afternoon they reach the foothills near the Winter Court border, and Feyre pushes them onward in hopes of crossing into safer lands before their enemies catch them. During the steep climb, Lucien acknowledges Feyre’s strength, tells her that surviving Dagdan was her own doing, and thanks her for having his back against both the twins and Ianthe. The admission begins to soften the hostility between them.

That night, in a small cave warmed by a fire, Feyre finally falls into a deep sleep. In her dream, she seems to slip into Lucien’s watchful thoughts and senses him noticing how worn down she is before quietly covering her with his cloak, suggesting that some spark of her power may be returning. The fragile calm is shattered when Feyre wakes to a rough hand on her face and hears a cold male voice. Lucien is pinned by three males, and Feyre realizes they are Lucien’s brothers, who have found them at last.