On the Reconciliation, Loth guards Sabran as the battle rages. Cannons fire, Eastern dragons dive beneath the waves to drag fire-breathers to the deep, and the Draconic Navy's ships close in. Sabran decides they must reach the Defiance to confront Kalyba, and she and Loth, along with twelve Knights of the Body, abandon their ship and leap into the sea.

On the Defiance, Tané duels Kalyba, who shifts between bird, stag, and human forms. Tané severs one of Kalyba's antlers and wounds her shoulder, but the witch counters with searing red fire that burns Tané's thigh. Sabran arrives on the Defiance with Loth and her guards, and she confronts Kalyba directly. The witch reveals her centuries-old jealousy over Galian's love for Cleolind and announces her plan to impersonate Sabran and rule Inys under the Nameless One's protection. Sabran engages Kalyba in conversation, drawing her attention, until Ead strikes from the shadows and drives the sterren blade through Kalyba's chest. Dying, Kalyba warns Sabran that her house is built on barren ground and to beware "the sweet water."

Immediately after Kalyba's death, the Nameless One erupts from the Abyss. His immense form dwarfs every creature present. Tané rides with Onren on the dragon Norumo into battle against the Nameless One's protective flock of fire-breathers. The Nameless One speaks into Tané's mind, taunting her. During a dive, lightning strikes Tané, stopping her heart momentarily and knocking her from dragonback. She loses Ascalon, which falls to the deck of the Dancing Pearl. Nayimathun catches Tané mid-fall but is badly wounded when the Nameless One's teeth tear her tail.

Meanwhile, Ead fights Draconic Navy soldiers on the ships. Using the waning jewel's hum to guide her, she locates Ascalon on the Dancing Pearl. The Nameless One speaks to her mind, offering to spare Sabran if Ead becomes his handmaiden, but she refuses. As the Nameless One dives at the ship, Ead seizes Ascalon and buries it to the hilt in the exposed flesh of his chest. The blow is devastating but not fatal; the beast must be chained to the Abyss to die. Ead is thrown into the sea, exhausted.

Tané and Nayimathun find Ead underwater. Tané grasps Ead's hand, and together they hold both the rising and waning jewels. Drawing on ancient instinct and the combined power of both jewels, they command the ocean to rise, weaving a cocoon of water around the Nameless One, quenching his fire. Ascalon blazes with light inside his wound. With a final scream, the Beast of the Mountain is dragged down into the Abyss. The Eastern dragons dive after him to see him to his grave, and the sea falls still.