Saeris arrives through Kingfisher’s shadow gate at the massive border war camp and sees the frozen river separating it from a charred wasteland and a distant black fortress called Ammontraíeth, the enemy’s seat. A bark-skinned attendant, Holgoth, greets Kingfisher and confirms rumors of his return; Kingfisher insists Renfis address the riders, claiming they are Renfis’s warriors now. Renfis storms off toward the armory, and Saeris and Carrion follow.

By the river, Renfis drills Carrion in swordwork while explaining how the Darn freezes into a “solid silver” travel route in deep winter. Saeris agrees to spar and is swiftly dropped, then adapts and improves, shifting from defense to aggressive attacks that finally make Renfis retreat a step. Kingfisher appears, mocks Saeris’s disarming, and is pressured by Renfis to attend a captains’ meeting; Kingfisher agrees but demands Renfis take Carrion away so Kingfisher can speak privately with Saeris.

Kingfisher brings Saeris to his magically expanded tent quarters, full of books and “research,” and pointedly offers a meal. Over soup, he admits Saeris fights well but undercuts it by noting Renfis was going easy. Saeris challenges Kingfisher’s need to control her, and Kingfisher bluntly explains he needs Saeris alive to make the rings because without them the war will remain a stalemate and he will never reclaim his family’s lands; he chooses compulsion because it is faster and less risky.

When Saeris insists she wants to help willingly if he would only trust her, Kingfisher’s shadows surge and he abruptly kisses her, escalating into an intense makeout that leaves Saeris openly wanting him. Kingfisher abruptly stops, then returns to show Saeris his racing heartbeat and warns, “I can’t trust anything,” before leaving. Shaken, Saeris flees into the camp and is swept toward the war-room tent, where Renfis notes he can smell what happened and urges her to sit close to the fire to burn it off.

In the war room, tension centers on Kingfisher’s long absence: Danya, a furious captain, confronts him for abandoning them after Gillethrye burned; Lorreth backs Kingfisher, while Renfis demands Kingfisher explain. Kingfisher refuses to reveal why he left, only apologizing and saying he had no choice; Danya attacks anyway. Saeris instinctively shouts “STOP!” and shatters Danya’s sword into flying shards, stunning everyone; Kingfisher claims Saeris as “mine.” A boom interrupts as cries of “ICE BREAKERS” ring out—Sanasroth forces are at the riverbank, and the ice must be broken so the dead cannot cross.