In the tunnel, the group navigates a booby trap involving fiery bronze snakes, which Dalila disarms by solving a medical riddle. They soon find an underground canal with a remarkable glass boat, which they board. The boat carries them through the canal into a large sinkhole containing an immense treasure hoard and over a dozen life-size automatons arranged in courtly scenes. On a central marble dais lies the embalmed corpse of a physician named Nilani, who is holding the Mortar of Mithridates and is guarded by two large automaton warriors. An inscription warns that death awaits anyone who touches the mortar.

To avoid the curse, Tinbu uses his crossbow to shoot the mortar from Nilani’s hands. The instant the mortar is dislodged, all the automatons activate and attack. The chamber begins to flood and collapse, triggering the destruction of the entire lost city of Muziris. As the floodwaters rise, the crew escapes in the glass boat, which is carried out of the top of the sinkhole and into the ocean. Once safe, they reveal they each managed to steal some treasure during the chaos, with Majed acquiring a large, gem-encrusted golden collar.

The mortar quest completed, Amina returns to the isolated fort she inhabits with her family, who include her mother; her daughter, Marjana; her brother Mustafa; her sister-in-law Hala; and her young nephew and niece. Mustafa and Amina’s mother announce their plan to move the family to the town of Salalah, arguing that their current home is too remote. Amina objects, insisting it is not safe for her family to be so exposed due to her dangerous past. Amina’s mother accuses her of hypocrisy for traveling the world while expecting her family to remain in hiding, warning that Marjana, on the cusp of adolescence, is “suffocating” from the isolation.

Later, Amina finds Dalila has set up a laboratory in the cellar. Dalila confesses she took a scraping from the Mortar of Mithridates before it was given to Khayzur and is now trying to re-create the Poison King’s legendary poison preventative. Sensing the tension in Amina’s family, Dalila advises Amina to listen to her family’s wishes, cautioning her not to become their “jailer.”

The peri Khayzur appears on Amina’s roof, revealing he can sense the magical “stench” of a chaos spirit he identifies as Raksh. Amina knows the stench Khayzur senses is from Marjana, who, being Raksh’s daughter, is part chaos spirit. To protect Marjana, Amina lies that no supernatural creature has visited her home recently. Khayzur accepts the explanation and reveals the true purpose of his visit: Raksh has been encouraging mortals to seek out a powerful sorceress named Lab on a hidden island in the Persian Gulf. The peris are alarmed because Lab is rumored to possess the Third Transgression, a magical spindle that can rewrite memories and fate and that feeds on vengeance. If a mortal gets their hands on the spindle, chaos will break out. Khayzur tasks Amina with retrieving the spindle. A reluctant Amina agrees. 

After Khayzur leaves, Marjana finds Amina on the roof. Marjana confesses that she has been feeling “strange,” sensing whispers and shadows and feeling like something is “living” inside her. To comfort Marjana without revealing the full truth about her identity, Amina explains that Marjana’s father’s people had an “affinity for magic” (41).

Amina informs Dalila of the new quest to find the spindle. The two argue over strategy: Amina wants to gather information by consulting Jamal in Baghdad, while Dalila insists they should first hunt down Raksh and the man who escaped from Lab’s island and told Raksh about its magic. Amina summons her ship, the Marawati, to prepare for the journey.

Before she departs, Amina’s brother Mustafa confronts her about her secrets, her obvious supernatural abilities, and her frequent absences. He warns that the family will eventually move on without her if she continues to leave. The night before sailing, Amina discovers Dalila has vanished from her home. She finds her meteor blade missing and realizes Dalila has stolen it to hunt Raksh on her own. Amina departs on the Marawati, having parted with her family on bad terms.

Days into her voyage, Amina discovers that Marjana, has stowed away in the cargo hold of the Marawati. Realizing a return journey would cause a significant delay, Amina decides to take Marjana with her to Baghdad. During the trip, Marjana thrives at sea, growing more confident and curious.

They arrive safely in Baghdad and go to the home of Jamal’s eccentric great-great-uncle, Abu Gharib, a maker of magical “incantation bowls” designed to trap demons. There, Amina’s crew is joyfully reunited with Jamal, who is now living and studying with his uncle.

Jamal recounts a fantastical story from an old text about a prince named Badr Basim, who shipwrecks on the island of the sorceress Queen Lab. In this tale, Lab rules a magical “White City” where she lures men, takes them as lovers for a month, and then transforms them into livestock. With help from a kindly local merchant named Abdallah, Badr avoids this fate by using a counter-spell to turn Lab into a mule.

Lab’s mother soon discovers the trick and rescues her. The two vengeful sorceresses then transform Badr into a bird and imprison him in a cage. Badr is eventually saved by his own mother, a powerful sea-princess named Julnar, who wages a magical war that destroys the White City and kills all its inhabitants except for Abdallah. After finishing the tale, Jamal notes that this portrayal of Lab as a reckless, lust-driven witch doesn’t align with the cunning and dangerous sorceress the peris fear.

After Jamal finishes the story of Queen Lab, the crew discusses its implications, noting that the tale makes no mention of the magical spindle. Jamal then reveals that his family’s archives contain two other accounts that describe an “ensorcelled weaving device” closely matching the spindle’s description. The first story links the artifact to a mysterious plague that killed the entire ruling family of the ancient city of Ctesiphon. The second tells of an incident where Jamal’s ancestors, working as exorcists, were called to a village where a wife, supposedly bewitched by the device, had massacred her whole family under the delusion that they were imposters. Having learned more about the spindle’s violent history, the crew agrees to wait in Baghdad for any news from Dalila before continuing their quest.

While waiting in Baghdad, Marjana discovers Amina training and is awed by her mother’s supernatural speed and strength. She confronts Amina about her skills and asks if she has ever killed anyone. The conversation is interrupted by Jamal. Later, Amina asks Jamal to watch over Marjana while she is on her mission. During their talk, Jamal reveals his research has found no mention anywhere of a creature like Raksh, confirming that he is incomprehensibly ancient.

A courier arrives with a parcel for Amina. Inside is Dalila’s bloodied headdress and a note from a man named Sheikh Sasan. The note confirms that Dalila has been captured by the Banu Sasan, a criminal guild Dalila fled long ago. To save her, Amina is summoned to a meeting in a place called Sarilaglag, with the note adding that a “former acquaintance”—whom Amina knows is Raksh—is involved. Realizing it’s a trap, Amina begins to formulate a “dreadful” plan.