Six weeks into the search for Aelin Galathynius, Elide Lochan has never been surer of her own helplessness and frailty. Without centuries of tactical know-how, skill in combat, or magical ability, she knows that her role in the coming war will be limited. But a chance encounter changes everything she thought she knew about her quest, Elide must face a simple truth; that the best chance for Aelin's rescue now lies in the hands of a woman untrained for battle, a cripple with a habit of making dangerous friends, a heartless traitor, and a Blackbeak witch.