As Kai's group prepares to cross the desert at night, Paedyn is kept bound and mocked for being an Ordinary worth such heavy guard. When an Imperial soldier grabs her hair, threatens her, and calls her filthy, Kai immediately intervenes and makes clear that no one else is to touch her. Paedyn recognizes that his anger is not kindness but control: he sees her as his prisoner, and he wants that possession challenged by no one.

Paedyn refuses to ride a horse, partly out of inexperience and fear, so Kai ties her wrists to his horse and makes her walk beside him through the sand. As the march continues, her injured leg worsens and she begins to limp. Kai finally stops, crouches in front of her, and heals the wound by drawing on a Healer somewhere in the party. He explains that he waited because, in a crowded city, a fully healed Paedyn would have had a better chance of escaping.

The pause sharpens their emotional conflict. Paedyn notes that Kai fears her, and Kai admits he would be a fool not to fear someone so fierce, adding that he is not a fool anymore. When the march resumes, Paedyn notices a dagger at his side and begins planning. Pretending exhaustion, she asks to ride, then tricks Kai into cutting her wrists free and helping her mount. While feigning panic and flailing in his arms, she steals the dagger and drops it into her boot, cutting her ankle but successfully hiding the weapon.

After demanding help a second time, Paedyn is finally placed on the horse with Kai seated directly behind her so he can keep her where he can see her. Their close proximity revives the complicated familiarity between them, but Kai remains focused on control and preventing escape. During the ride, Paedyn asks what Kitt will do to her. Kai admits he does not know and says Kitt is still the same hollow, damaged man she left behind, only now trying to fill a king's role. From that answer, Paedyn concludes that she is likely riding toward death.