Two days pass before the crew reaches the cliffs over Djerholm, where the Ice Court stands “like a great white sentinel” (258) and the town is busy with Hringkälla celebrations. The group observes the prison wagon and decides they’ll use a “bunk biscuit” tactic, replacing six prisoners with themselves to get inside the Court.

The team finds a place to camp and wait for the next morning’s wagon. Inej sleeps until midday, so tired she’s “close to collapse” (266), and still suffering the effects of her injury. Wylan uses a chemical to down a tree across the road, which will force the wagon to stop. While the driver and guard deal with the tree, Kaz picks the lock on the wagon but then freezes, his face “pale, almost waxen” as he sees the prisoners “tightly packed together” with black bags over their heads (269). Finally, Kaz manages to move, clearly shaken as he unlocks the prisoners’ shackles.

Kaz and Inej lead six prisoners away, and Nina spells them into unconsciousness. The crew enters the wagon and they place shackles and hoods on each other, while Inej locks the wagon from the outside, then enters through the other side of the door where Kaz has removed the hinges.