Nikolai hears a screech above them. A swarm of bees, forming the shape of a woman, flies toward the skiff. A massive grotesque form follows, shape shifting between man and animal. Above them a dragon circles. The skiff crashes and rolls over as they try to escape. An army of sand soldiers surround Nikolai, Zoya, and Yuri. The dragon swoops, and Zoya fights back, throwing up a wall of icy wind. The dragon’s fire surrounds her, knocking her to the ground, and she screams as she realizes her silver cuff amplifier is shattered. A woman emerges from the bees and commands the dragon to back off; he obeys, transforming into a man. When the two figures call each other Elizaveta and Juris, Nikolai remembers stories of the Saints; Sankta Lizabeta, “martyred in a field of roses” (265), and Sankt Juris who “slew the dragon” (265). The Saints take the trio to their sand palace to explain everything.

Chapter 16 introduces Captain Isaak Andreyev, who was summoned before the Grisha Triumvirate two days ago and was told the king and Zoya are missing. As long as Nikolai is without an heir, they told Isaak, “[I]t is essential that no one discover [Ravka is] without a ruler until the king can be found or a strategy put into place” (270).