Tam and Sanar join Maralen and Ashling on the Wanderwine, heading toward Isilu. Ashling has learned to cross between flamekin and rimekin without surrendering her memory. Her earlier pilgrimage into the Primal Beyond sought a way to reconcile those two selves.
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 to help Kirol.
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. Oko was Oona's first avatar; he rebelled and left the plane after sparking.