A few moments later, a tree sapling is quickly growing in front of their eyes and the icey path to the Staryk world appears. She is in disbelief when she is able to pass Irina the nut. Stepon gives him the nut and Miryem thinks if Irina is in the water in the Staryk world there is a chance. In the mortal world at the house, the Staryk king is looking for something from his world to connect him and bridge his path to his kingdom. Not knowing what to do with it, she buries it and returns back to her room and Magreta. She puts her hand through the water to return to her room, when someone in the water puts something in her hand. Irina is at the house in the Staryk world after letting Chernabog into the Staryk world through her mirror/water entrance. They head towards the house in the woods, when Miryems father finds them and takes them in the cart. Miryem and Sergey have to drag the Staryks body. Miryem and the Staryk fight off a guard that attacks them, Sergey comes out of hiding to help bring him down. She bargains she will take the Chernobog to Staryk world to save her life. The chernobog comes to her room and demands to feast on Irina since it could not have the king.

She knows suddenly the staryk has escaped. The staryk overpowers the Chernobog with powers as cold as a blizzard. Miryem helps him escape by changing a silver link to gold on his chains, just as the Chernobog is coming. The Staryk cannot promise he won't leave their lands alone, with a demon on the throne, but he does promise to leave the mortal world untouched once the demon is off the throne. Miryem makes it to the Staryk lord, but feels the Chernobog closely behind her. The next morning, the tsar will warn Casimir and Ulrich of Mirnatius and his demon, and show him the Staryk, and they plan to conspire against Mirnatius and burn him at the stake, just like his mother.

Irina realizes Mirnatius didn't kill his family, the demon did, and gave him a crown he hadn't wanted. Irina tells Vasilia it is important for her to have a baby soon for the throne, implying she cannot have a baby with Mirnatius.

Vasilia has arrived in Vysnia to marry Mirnatius' cousin, Ilias. Stepon eventually gets off the cart too, as planned, to wait for her in the surrounding trees to help her. Her family covers for her so it looks like she leaves Vysnia with them, but she sneaks off of the cart and into the hidden tunnel. The Mandelstams will go and live on the farm with them, without Miryem. This was a thank you from the tsarina for helping fight the Staryk lord and holding him in chains. Wanda and clan are granted permission from the tsar to inhabitate any abandoned house they please, it will be their land, and there will be no more trouble for them. the siblings find a family in the Mandelstams, Irina lives (happily?) with Magreta and Mirnatius, and Miryem finds love in the Staryk world.

The spinning silver