After the irids' rejection, Ridoc receives the briefest version of Xaden's secret before Mira lands. When Mira arrives and questions the group's mood, Ridoc deflects by recounting the irids' rejection of Andarna. The group debates their next move: Violet declares Loysam offers no military help and proposes returning home through the isles. After the others arrive, Ridoc presses Violet for the full story. They hike into the jungle with a sound-shield rune for privacy, and Violet tells Ridoc everything about Xaden's venin corruption. Ridoc is furious about the secrecy and alarmed that Xaden has channeled three times. He challenges Violet on whether Xaden can truly be trusted, pointing out there are no accounts of initiates walking away from dark power. Violet insists she must find a cure, and her emotions surge out of control—lightning splits a tree, which Ridoc extinguishes with ice.

Ridoc demands Violet define a concrete line Xaden must cross before she would let him go, threatening to tell Mira otherwise. Violet reluctantly agrees: if Xaden kills a rider without cause, hurts civilians, her friends, her dragons, or her, he's gone. Ridoc also demands that Rhiannon, Sawyer, and Jesinia be told about Xaden's condition, arguing they need extra eyes to protect Violet. On their way back, they encounter Xaden, who overheard nothing but accepts Ridoc's terms—Rhi, Sawyer, and Jesinia will be told. Xaden reveals he is training Violet to be capable of killing him when the time comes, insisting he chooses her survival over his own.

Xaden then pulls away emotionally, blaming himself for the irids' refusal, believing his presence as an "abomination" doomed the mission. Violet firmly rejects his self-blame, telling him the irids' judgment reflects on them, not him, and that her love is unchanged. She tells him to let her know when he's done brooding.

The journey home takes ten days to Deverelli and then over three weeks total back to Basgiath. Andarna barely speaks, Cat is heartbreakingly silent, and Xaden maintains his distance. They fly over Poromiel without encountering venin or wyvern. Upon landing at Basgiath, Violet is reunited with Rhiannon, Sawyer, and the rest of her squad. Ridoc summarizes the trip's highlights in his characteristic style. The squad learns Trager was killed in Zehyllna, and Violet announces the irids won't come—the mission failed.

General Aetos arrives and hints at punishment for disobeying orders. He delivers a missive to Violet from Theophanie, who reveals she watched them fly over Pavis and claims to possess the one thing Violet seeks above all else. Violet is shaken that Theophanie could deliver a message inside the wards before they even arrived. Cat anxiously asks about her sister Syrena and uncle Tecarus. Aetos confirms Syrena is alive but delivers devastating news: during the squad's three-week absence, the city of Suniva fell to dark wielders, and Queen Maraya is dead.