At Lake Zhava, Mia distrusts stories about the Gitrog. She has good reason to question the evidence: villagers have stolen and slaughtered her sheep, leaving false tracks to disguise their offerings. The deception does not mean the creature itself is imaginary. When she confronts the worshippers on their boat, the monster emerges and attacks.
The villagers turn on Mia when their sacrifice fails to keep them safe. Wilbur helps her escape his father Kalim, who tries to offer her to the Gitrog. The creature consumes Kalim, and Mia and Wilbur reach shore after abandoning the burning boat. Their apparent escape is not the ending.
The Gitrog follows. Its gaze overwhelms Mia's resistance, and she kills Wilbur as another offering. The person who challenged the village's fear becomes a participant in its ritual. This local catastrophe does not need Jace to witness it to matter: the collapse of protection leaves communities vulnerable to predators and to the bargains they invent in desperation.