Meryn reports to the army recruitment base inside the castle's outer walls at dawn, joining a diverse crowd of recruits from across Nocturna's fiefdoms. After checking in with a bored officer, she waits in the courtyard where an officer announces that all recruits will participate in the Bonding Trials. The news shocks and terrifies many, as rumors of deaths during the Trials are widespread. The officer instructs them to hike to Mount Wolfsbane, set up camp, and prepare for the Ascent at dawn the next morning. Recruits who fail to bond with a direwolf—and survive—will be sent to the front lines for training.

Meryn collects her tent and gear, noting the poor quality of standard-issue supplies, and joins the march. Along the way, the recruits pass the Bonded City of Sturmfrost—a pristine, privileged enclave with heated streets, sparkling glass windows, and enormous homes. Meryn watches a Bonded family with a small daughter who reminds her of Saela, and she feels a surge of resentment at the inequality between the Bonded elite and the commoners.

During the long, grueling hike, Meryn befriends Alessandra, a fellow recruit who is smart but physically struggling, and lends her a spare sweater. When they arrive at the mountain's base, they discover that recruits from Bonded families are already camped there with superior gear, servants, and supplies—privileges the common-born recruits were not afforded. Meryn and Alessandra set up camp together, deciding to share a tent for warmth.

At a cookfire with other common-born recruits, Meryn meets Henrey, a confident and muscular young man who has trained his whole life to bond with a direwolf, hoping to elevate his family's status. Henrey explains that there are two routes up the mountain: a dangerous, direct path the Bonded recruits race up to reach the wolves first, and a longer, safer route. Meryn shares intelligence from Lee—that direwolves only choose willing riders, so those who don't want to bond can mentally refuse and be left alone. Despite Henrey's passionate argument for trying to bond, Meryn remains focused on surviving the Ascent and reaching the front to find Saela. As night falls, a distant direwolf howl echoes ominously through the mountains.