After resting for several days, Amina resumes her duties at court, which consist of tedious council sessions and frustrating language lessons. In the afternoons, accompanied by her translator Arno, she meets with local artisans, secretly searching for the spindle while pretending to engage in a cultural exchange. She notices that there are no foreign-born castaways to be found and that her visions of a decayed reality persist, though they are now more fleeting. While Amina struggles, Dalila thrives, excelling in her studies and spending most of her time with the queen and palace scholars.

Amina’s repeated requests to visit the Marawati are denied. When she confronts Queen Lab, she has another vision, seeing a ruined tree instead of a magnificent tower. The queen observes Amina’s stillness with sharp suspicion. Lab then criticizes Amina for wearing weapons, calling the display hostile. Dalila defuses the tension by distracting the queen with a question about a poisonous flower. Lab then brings them to entrance of her treasury, where she stays behind with Dalila while Amina is admitted with Orinth, the keeper of mysteries, who speaks Arabic. Lab’s stated purpose is to have Amina identify artifacts the Khatti Ugalans cannot understand; Amina is taken only to the Chamber of Mysteries, one of two corridors, and searches it without finding the spindle.

The spindle is in the possession Harapsili, a princess from the conquered city of Wilasa who is now enslaved. The spindle is given to the talented Harapsili so she can weave with it but she recognizes the spindle as a malevolent, magical object. Harapsili is wary of the spindle but one night after she is cursed and groped in her captivity, Harapsili finally communicates with the entity inside. The spindle is overjoyed to find a host again, but a priestess trained in magic, Harapsili resists being fully possessed. She instead forms a wary partnership with the spindle.

Rejecting the spindle’s desire for immediate bloody revenge, Harapsili uses its power to subtly orchestrate a complex political plot that culminates in a civil war, destroying the royal family that enslaved her. The spindle learns from Harapsili that vengeance can be a slow, strategic process and develops an affection for its host. After her revenge is complete, the spindle encourages Harapsili to marry for safety, but her new husband strangles her within a year. In a fit of grief and rage, the spindle orchestrates the destruction of the entire civilization. The experience teaches it a lesson: never again to fall in love with a host.

One of the mysteries about Khatti Ugal for Amina is that the people wear resplendent cloaks, but most of them have no clue where the textile comes from. Amina questions residents and infers that the textiles are made in the temple of Khatti Ugal, an off-limits space. That evening, Amina uses remnants of her dinner to create a map of the palace, trying to locate the temple. Dalila returns from the apothecary, excited about a new tonic she has developed for Amina’s illness. After helping Amina refine the map, Dalila insists she drink the foul-tasting concoction, which includes a sleeping draught.

Amina wakes the next morning feeling better than she has in weeks, with the pain in her head and joints gone. Finding herself unescorted, she decides to explore the palace grounds and heads for the harbor. On a bluff overlooking the sea, she is confronted by a wild-looking hermit who speaks Persian. Clearly an outsider, Hasan tells Amina he was shipwrecked 20 years ago and is the last survivor of his crew. He warns her that Khatti Ugal is a magical trap and its people are not human. To prove it, he tells her to try to leave the area. Amina discovers he is right: No matter which direction she walks, an invisible barrier in the forest always returns her to the same spot. Hasan explains that colorful banners in the trees create a prison from which no one can escape without the queen’s permission.

After warning Amina that Queen Lab is a devil, Hasan flees into the woods. Horrified, Amina tries to reach the jungle path leading back to her ship but finds the same magical barrier blocking her way. She realizes she and Dalila are trapped and separated from their crew. She considers summoning the peri Khayzur but decides it is too risky to do so without Dalila.

She races back to the palace and finds Dalila in a courtyard. Amina pulls her into a secluded garden and tells her everything. Dalila, however, is convinced Amina is hallucinating due to her illness and head injury. She dismisses the stories about the queen and confesses that she finds Khatti Ugal a refreshing land of opportunity. The two argue fiercely, with Amina insisting they are in danger and must try to escape. Dalila panics, refusing to leave because her medicinal research is on the verge of a breakthrough. During the heated exchange, Mitanni appears with a dozen guards, drawn by the shouting. As he approaches, Dalila discreetly steals Khayzur’s feather from around Amina’s neck. Mitanni announces the queen requires their presence.

Many generations after Harapsili, the spindle finds itself in the possession of a daeva, a fire spirit. Through this new host, it learns to wield powerful magic, including shapeshifting and conjuring fire. The spindle’s presence proves toxic to the daevas, who ultimately fling it at their enemies, the marid, as a weapon. The marid are water elementals and prove to be weak hosts; they die quickly when the spindle’s possession severs their connection to their collective.

One day, the spindle, whose current host is a “fading seal-maiden” is confronted by a powerful marid in the form of a colossal turtle (277), which psychically warns the spindle to leave. The spindle is briefly afraid but ultimately dismisses the threat, having learned that magical creatures are forbidden by their nature from directly killing humans. Because the spindle is made by humans and contains human memories, the water turtle cannot snap it. The turtle consumes the seal-maiden and leaves the spindle. After growing bored with its elemental hosts, the spindle, now empowered with new forms of magic, returns to the world of humans. It remains unaware that the patient and ancient marid are now watching its every move.

Mitanni leads Amina and Dalila to the palace dungeons, where Queen Lab is waiting. Lab informs them that another ship has wrecked on the island and its hostile survivors are in a cell. She asks Amina, as a fellow castaway, to speak with them. Inside the cell, Amina is shocked to find the new castaways are al-Uqab and the other arsonists from Sarilaglag. They recognize Amina immediately, and al-Uqab begins shouting curses.

Lab realizes Amina has been lying about her past. She reveals the prisoners have been raving about pirates and have named both Amina and Dalila. As the confrontation escalates, guards bring in a shackled but unharmed Raksh. He is overjoyed to see Amina, but before he can do anything, Lab flings a handful of magical sand at him, rendering him unconscious. Amina draws her dagger, but Lab threatens her crew, and Dalila persuades her to stand down. Lab demands the truth and orders Dalila to her chambers while Amina is to be taken on a “journey into the hills.”

Lab forces a disarmed Amina on a difficult hike. On a high cliff, Lab accuses Amina of being a pirate who came to plunder Khatti Ugal. She also reveals that her people have noticed Amina’s supernatural abilities. As a test, Lab throws her knife into the valley below and orders Amina to retrieve it by sunset; failing to do so will result in death for Amina’s crew.

In the valley, Amina finds the area littered with animal and human remains. The knife is wedged inside a gigantic nest containing four golden eggs, which belongs to a pack of six griffins—massive lion-eagle hybrids. Realizing the task is an execution, Amina snatches the knife and makes a desperate run for a nearby cave. The griffins attack, mauling her severely, but she manages to crawl to safety. Trapped, injured, and on a deadline, she finds a scrap of leather with Arabic writing left by a previous victim. She fashions a sling and, climbing atop the rocks, kills several griffins with stones from the sling, then finishes the remaining two by grabbing one by the foot and dashing it to the ground and riding another down to stab it—direct displays of her supernatural strength. Three of the four eggs are broken in the fighting, leaving only one intact. Shaken and horrified by the slaughter she has inflicted, Amina sees the sun setting and knows she must return to the queen.

The spindle and the entity form a partnership with Julnar, a widowed queen with a young son, Pares. It has found a peaceful and comfortable existence, using its magic to live out its host’s life in her prosperous, stable kingdom. However, the marid, who have been watching for centuries, finally take their revenge. They unleash a horrific plague by poisoning the water supply of Julnar’s city, then cause all the wells and springs to run dry.

Julnar tries to flee with her son in a small boat provided by a loyal priest, but the escape is a trap. Once at sea, the boat is magically held in place close to the shore. From the shore, the priest dies by suicide as a sacrifice, and creatures of the air—the daevas—destroy all escape routes from the city. For three days, Julnar is forced to watch from the shore as her entire kingdom dies of thirst and plague. Afterward, a great wave annihilates the city. The marid then torment Julnar and Pares at sea for weeks before stranding them on a desolate, mountainous island that is to be their prison. This island will become Khatti Ugal.

Covered in blood, Amina returns to the palace throne room. She throws the queen’s knife and the last surviving griffin egg at Lab’s feet, announcing she has killed all six beasts. Impressed, Lab says the feat is impossible for a mortal. When Amina tries to attribute her success to luck, Lab uses an invisible force to choke Amina and throw her to the ground. The rest of the court appears to freeze as Lab demands to know what kind of creature Amina is.

Amina tells a selective truth, revealing that her bond with Raksh gives her supernatural abilities. Just as his power grows with her legendary deeds, hers grow with his magic. Amina continues to keep her mission from the peris a secret, claiming she came to Khatti Ugal intentionally to seek glory by discovering a lost kingdom. She proposes a new deal: In exchange for their lives, she will use her skills to help Lab and her people leave their island prison. Lab agrees but makes it clear that Amina is now under her command. Lab then summons three bandits and gives them a magical drink and transforms them into terrified, bleating sheep before the assembled court. She warns Amina that a similar fate awaits her and her men if she ever displeases her again. Realizing that such forced bestial transformations are the source of the island’s wool, Amina throws up.

Amina awakens in extreme pain to find Raksh tending to her wounds from the griffin quest. Dalila then arrives, and she and Raksh immediately begin to argue. Amina tells them about her deal with the queen, which infuriates Dalila, who refuses to sail with Raksh. Amina angrily reminds Dalila that she stole Khayzur’s feather, their best chance of escape.

After sending Raksh away, Amina demands the feather back. Dalila refuses, insisting they must stay in Khatti Ugal. Pressed by a furious Amina, Dalila finally reveals why she wants to stay on the accursed island: She is looking for a cure for Amina who has been poisoned since Sarilaglag. Sheikh Sasan’s people coated Amina’s meteor blade with a slow-acting, fatal poison. All of Amina’s symptoms—the unhealing blisters, fatigue, and visions—are from the venom. 

Amina is enraged by Dalila’s secrecy. Had she known she was fatally poisoned, Amina would have headed back to her daughter immediately to spend her remaining time with Marjana. Amina believes Dalila has cost her the chance to see Marjana again and endangered the entire crew. Dalila, focused on a cure, reveals she has “made a deal” to save Amina but offers no apology. Feeling hurt and betrayed, Amina tells Dalila to get out. Alone, she fights the urge to drink wine, instead smashing the pitcher against the wall and collapsing in tears.