Dorian has suspicions, but he cannot prove that the King or Perrington knew about the poison. The King agrees not to punish Chaol for killing Cain, but he wants to send Celaena back to Endovier because she did not recognize that her wine had been poisoned. When Dorian stands up for Celaena, he reveals to the King how much he cares for her. To make up for this mistake, Dorian channels Nehemia by finding symbolic ways to resist the King: He convinces the King to reject Perrington’s plan to use Nehemia as a hostage in the war with Eyllwe.

When Nehemia returns the Eye of Elena to Celaena, she explains Celaena’s recent experiences with magic. Bloodbane allowed Celaena to see “beyond the veil” of reality because it could sense her lost powers. The royal family of Eyllwe all practice Wyrd magic in secret, so Nehemia has been finding and destroying the ridderak Cain has been summoning. During the duel, Nehemia used Wyrdmarks to open a portal so that Elena could appear. She also placed Wyrdmarks under Celaena’s bed, for her protection. Nehemia can’t explain how Cain knew about Celaena’s parents, or what the Wyrdmark on Celaena’s forehead means.