Bryce lands hard in mist and grass, believing she has reached Hel after escaping through the Gate. She is bloodied, nearly drained of power, and devastated by the thought of leaving Hunt and Ruhn behind to face the Asteri. When she sees a beautiful city across a river, she tries to force herself to move and find Aidas before Hel’s creatures can find her.

Instead, a winged, armored male seizes her at knifepoint and speaks in a language she does not understand. Bryce begs him in her own tongue to take her to Aidas, but he remains wary, notices the Starsword, and blindfolds her before flying her to a house. Inside, Bryce is shocked to find warmth, books, bread, and elegant furnishings rather than the brutal landscape she expected from Hel, which makes her doubt where she has actually arrived.

More people enter the house, including several Fae and other winged males, all dressed in old-fashioned styles. Desperate to communicate, Bryce switches to the ancient Fae language, and her words stun them. Their shock deepens when the first winged male draws a black-hilted dagger that proves to be the Starsword’s twin, causing both weapons to flare with answering light. The dark-haired female identifies the sword as Gwydion, confirming that Bryce has brought something of enormous significance.

When Bryce again asks for Aidas and Apollion, the dark-haired female tells her that this world is not Hel and that no one has spoken the old language there for fifteen thousand years. That revelation makes Bryce realize she has crossed into an entirely different world, not just the wrong place within Hel. After another pair arrives, Bryce is shaken by a winged male who strongly resembles Ruhn, then throws herself on the strangers’ mercy and explains that Midgard is in danger. Asked for her name, she introduces herself as Bryce Quinlan, and the male identifies himself in the old tongue as Rhysand.