Returning to the field, Violet learns from Tairn and Cuir that Teine will not wake. Knowing Theophanie could return and that Teine must be removed before then, Violet convinces a reluctant Tairn to carry Teine by his chains to the cliffs despite his refusal to leave her. Tairn lifts Teine and departs, ordering Violet not to move from the field, while Bodhi worries that removing their strongest dragon is risky. Violet steels herself, shutting out thoughts of Xaden, Mira, and the city to focus solely as a rider.

Theophanie emerges from behind a wyvern carcass as Violet and Bodhi prepare to face her. Violet’s first thrown dagger is contemptuously deflected. Theophanie taunts Bodhi about his shadow-wielding kin and hints at a coming succession in Tyrrendor, then invites Violet to “tip the balance,” suggesting a mentorship and a greater plan. Violet and Bodhi intend to counter Theophanie’s signet, but when Bodhi attempts to work the weather, Violet realizes too late that they misidentified Theophanie’s magic.

Theophanie reveals herself as a storm wielder, not a lightning wielder. The clouds begin to rotate under her control, and Violet understands that Theophanie can create sustained, escalating storms—far more dangerous than discrete lightning strikes. Violet concludes that Bodhi’s counter-signet only works on their side’s magic, not venin magic, and orders him to retreat. As Bodhi refuses, Cuir seizes him and flies him out, preserving Tyrrendor’s succession as the winds intensify.

Gale-force winds uproot a massive tree that nearly crushes Violet. Theophanie urges Violet to channel and join her, but Violet uses the fallen tree as cover and improvises: she ties a maorsite-tipped arrow to a rock and throws it with the wind. Theophanie bats the projectile aside, but it detonates nearby, blasting her off her feet and briefly collapsing the storm.

Violet charges and engages at close range, stabbing a black-handled knife into Theophanie’s thigh, but Theophanie’s physical strength enables her to pin Violet, choke her, and batter her with pain. Gloating, Theophanie points out a wyvern horde bypassing Draithus to enter the Medaro Pass toward fleeing civilians, daring Violet to channel and overextend herself trying to save everyone.

Refusing to take the bait, Violet accepts that she cannot be everywhere at once and that another—“she”—is stronger when push comes to shove. She rejects Theophanie’s demand to wield, keeping her senses closed despite the immediate threat, and commits to acting as the necessary distraction while trusting the more capable ally to meet the larger danger.