Rhys strikes Maralen with moonglove, not from hatred but because the magic binding him interprets her transformation as the condition she once described. Tam and Sanar join Maralen and Ashling on the Wanderwine, heading toward Isilu while the poison advances. Ashling has learned to cross between flamekin and rimekin without surrendering her memory.
In Gilt-Leaf, Kirol retrieves the dawnglove but refuses to return for more when cinders close around the grove. Lluwen finally rejects Morcant's command rather than sacrifice a stranger. Ajani arrives in time to extract them, and Lluwen follows the group that offers protection without demanding obedience.
Shadowmoor overtakes the river and forces Maralen's party onto land. There the advancing night reveals the faerie who lured the students: Oko, Maralen's lost brother, returned in another form. His presence connects her private terror to a family created by Oona, but it also proves that an origin does not dictate what an heir must become.