When Azriel vanishes into the mist, Cassian dives with Nesta to find him. Beneath the fog, Nesta sees that Azriel is trapped in a fight with roughly two dozen Autumn Court soldiers and has been hit in the wing by an ash arrow, which weakens his power. Cassian refuses to land with Nesta in the middle of the battle, so he carries her away to a dead tree and orders her to stay there while he goes back for Azriel.

Once Nesta is left alone, the bog’s silence and danger press in on her. Cassian returns to the fight and uses Azriel’s flaring Siphons as a beacon, then attacks from above before the soldiers can react. Enraged by Azriel’s injury, Cassian cuts through the Autumn Court warriors while Azriel struggles against the ash bolt’s effects.

As time passes with no sign of either male, Nesta becomes increasingly terrified that Cassian may have been badly hurt or killed. Remembering the times she has seen Cassian nearly die, Nesta realizes she cannot remain hidden in the tree waiting helplessly. Although she knows she is no match for armed soldiers and has little control over her power, her fear for Cassian pushes her to climb down branch by branch despite pain, splinters, and shaking limbs.

On the ground, Nesta faces the black water of the bog and tries to force herself onward. A calm female voice warns her to run, but Nesta rejects the urge to flee because she wants to go toward Cassian, not away from him. As she studies her reflection and prepares to cross, the chapter ends with Nesta seeing a pair of night-dark eyes looking back at her through the water, revealing that something unseen is already watching her.