Luella arrived in a panic to report that Evangeline had not reached Odessa’s suite and was missing, along with her satchel and bow. Ransom immediately ordered a search, and the rangers fanned out while the main gates were held open. Odessa suspected Evangeline had left via either the side gate or an escape tunnel connected to the migration cellar, which Luella reluctantly confirmed existed.

Outside the walls, Ransom’s calls for Evangeline were answered by a distant Treow safety whistle. Zavier sprinted along the wall despite his limp, and the group spotted Cathlin in the trees with Evangeline. Zavier reached them first and embraced his daughter, sternly warning her never to leave the fortress again; Evangeline apologized, and Zavier carried her back toward the gates.

Ransom thanked Cathlin, who observed that Evangeline was “born to fly” and cautioned Luella and the others not to clip her wings while still keeping her safe, or risk losing her. Luella, revealed as Cathlin’s lifelong best friend, tearfully thanked Cathlin and arranged to speak later. Cathlin then told Odessa that the migration had changed them all, that both her and Luella’s families had been killed by the Crux, and explained Ellder’s single, little-known emergency escape tunnel.

Back in the courtyard, Ransom’s demeanor was grim. When Odessa asked to see the tunnel, he confirmed it lay behind a false wall in the dungeon’s farthest cell, leading into the forest, and warned against its use. Odessa asked if Cathlin was Ransom’s mother; he flatly said no and offered no further detail.

Ransom then pressed Odessa about her earlier encounter with the Voster High Priest. Odessa described the intense pain when touched and said she could always feel Voster magic as a prickling, crawling sensation. Ransom, who had only felt pain when Lyssa was siphoned and not from general contact or presence, said he had never heard of anyone feeling their magic that way, raising questions for Odessa about why she was different and why the High Priest had asked about her mother.

When they went to find the Voster to seek answers, a guard reported that the High Priest and Brother Dime had already departed through the gates during the search for Evangeline. The Voster were gone, leaving Odessa without answers.