As the ambush concludes, Paedyn keeps her stolen dagger at Kai’s throat and reveals that she believes the attackers are rescuing her, not targeting the camp. Her confidence is confirmed when Lenny steps into the firelight, followed by Leena holding Kai at crossbow point and Finn emerging from the shadows. Overwhelmed with relief, Paedyn embraces her friends, recognizes the Resistance’s distinctive red-arrowed shots, and realizes they deliberately came for her.

Lenny urges the group to leave the desert camp quickly, and Finn produces rope so they can bind Kai’s hands. Although Lenny is uneasy about taking his prince captive after swearing to protect him, he still warns Kai that they will shoot if he runs. Paedyn retrieves her knife, helps gather supplies, and avoids riding alone by climbing onto Lenny’s horse, while Kai walks ahead as they turn back toward Dor.

During the ride, Paedyn demands news from Ilya and the Bowl. Leena explains that the Resistance has effectively collapsed because the Bowl battle went disastrously wrong: the Imperials arrived in greater numbers than expected, their intelligence was wrong, and many fighters were killed. Finn adds that Calum was cut off before he could finish exposing the lie that Ordinaries are diseased, and Lenny says the king has likely captured both Calum and Mira for interrogation. Leena confirms that any surviving Resistance members are now fugitives.

The group then explains how they found Paedyn by spotting the campfire and recognizing her from a distance, while joking about Leena’s noisy shot and Finn’s signature arrows. Their humor briefly lightens the mood, and Lenny checks on Paedyn after everything she has survived. Paedyn tells him that the Resistance house was burned while she was inside and recounts that the late king attacked her outside the Bowl, leaving the scar on her neck. Lenny responds with sympathy, and Paedyn hides the deeper emotional and physical mark the encounter left on her.

When Paedyn asks about Kitt, Lenny and Finn share the rumors spreading through Ilya: since the king’s death, Kitt has not left his office, servants hear him muttering, and some believe he has gone mad. The kingdom is unstable, many Elites hate Paedyn for killing the king and for being Ordinary, and the queen is reportedly near death. Paedyn notices Kai walking ahead under the coming dawn and briefly wonders what his delayed mission means for his dying mother, but she forces that concern aside and ends the chapter by deciding she needs to learn how to ride for herself.