Deep beneath the earth, the Winter Lady offers an eternal, frozen slumber—a temptation that has already claimed the rest of the group. To break the trance, Rue must reject the entity's twisted mercy and make a desperate wager that forces a chaotic escape back to the surface. But the sanctuary they find in the woods feels artificial. As they set up camp by a river where the water is unnaturally pure and the Inn has vanished without a trace, James is forced to finally confront the violence that fractured the group, while Rue struggles to hold onto a memory that is already slipping away.