Bryce and Hunt go to the Black Dock to cross into the Bone Quarter, using their Death Marks to summon a boat. Bryce carries the Starsword because Ruhn warned her to bring it, and she worries about Ruhn, Ithan, and Cormac on their separate mission. Before the boat arrives, Baxian appears and questions why they are there, clearly suspicious, but Bryce and Hunt deflect him and board the black boat anyway.

The crossing unsettles Hunt immediately. The boat moves on its own through freezing mist, and when they reach the island, the Bone Quarter is nothing like the green resting place Bryce once believed she had seen. The landscape is gray, barren, and lifeless, and as Bryce and Hunt search for any sign of Emile or Sofie, they find nothing. Bryce strikes an obelisk with the Starsword to draw attention, hoping to summon either the missing humans or the ruler of the realm.

The Under-King answers and confronts them. Bryce accuses him of sending the Reapers who attacked her and Ruhn, but the Under-King angrily denies it and says the Reapers may have come from elsewhere, even from those tied to Hel. When Bryce and Hunt ask whether Emile or Sofie are hiding in the Bone Quarter, the Under-King swears by Cthona that no living beings other than Bryce and Hunt are on the island, forcing them to accept that Danika's clue did not lead them to Emile.

Bryce then demands to know why the Under-King once showed her a peaceful vision of the dead and where the Pack of Devils and Lehabah truly are. The Under-King admits Bryce saw only what she wanted to see and reveals that the comforting image of the Sleeping City is false. He explains that the dead remain for a time while they are remembered, but once they are forgotten, they are driven through the Dead Gate and consumed as secondlight. He also reveals that he feeds on worthy souls and covets Bryce because she still carries raw firstlight from making the Drop outside the normal system.

These revelations horrify Bryce and Hunt because they mean the afterlife they trusted is a lie and that Danika and countless others were not safely resting as Bryce believed. Hunt realizes too late that the Under-King would not share this truth unless he intended to silence them. As darkness closes in and something massive growls in the mist, Hunt pulls Bryce close and prepares to fight while the Under-King announces that he wants to taste Bryce's light.