A sudden threat scatters the students in the forest. Abigale falls into a tributary and is swept toward the Wanderwine, where merrow rescue her. They take her to the sleeping Eirdu, whose presence preserves their daylight memories. These rescuers are not identified as Sygg. Separately, Sygg has left trade to younger swimmers and become a schoolmaster with a new family. His Shadowmoor self forgets them and longs for piracy. Abigale survives underwater by signing an air bubble.
Kirol is captured by Lluwen and delivered to High Perfect Morcant. The elven ruler sees an outsider who can cross the aurora without changing and orders them to gather dawnglove from Shadowmoor. Tam and Sanar continue to Glen Elendra, choosing the warning over the search for their missing friends.
The separation reveals the plane more clearly than a single tour could. Each community has adapted to living beside its other nature, but old hierarchies still exploit the uncertainty. Maralen receives Tam and Sanar just as Oona's signs intensify, while Rhys mistakes her secrecy for proof that their feared ending has arrived.