By sundown, Rune is hungry, restless, and still alone in the cabin, so she dresses for dinner and finds the Arcadia’s crowded third-class dining saloon. While she eats under the protection of her illusion, Rune worries about the real danger ahead: once the ship reaches the New Republic, witch-hunting dogs will search the passengers, and Gideon is the only reason she has any chance of getting past them. A young male passenger tries to join her, but Gideon arrives, sends the man away, and takes his place.

In the booth, Rune and Gideon quickly turn from banter to accusation. Gideon says Rune deceived him and believes her seduction of him was no different from the way she manipulated his brother, while Rune silently admits her feelings had once become real even if they began as a lie. Because they must look like loving newlyweds to anyone watching, Gideon takes her hand and strokes it, but the performance only sharpens the pain between them. Rune tells Gideon she could never have been honest with a witch hunter who would have had her executed, and Gideon answers that Alex did not hate what she was, unlike him.

When they force themselves back to practical matters, Rune asks how Gideon plans to get her past the hounds. Gideon explains that the dogs can sometimes smell magic on innocent people, so he hoped Rune could deny being a witch during questioning, but that plan falters when Rune admits she does have witch scars. Gideon then suggests arresting Rune himself and claiming he has orders to deliver her alive, but Rune refuses to trust him with her freedom. The tension rises further when Rune spots the Caelis police officer from earlier still aboard and watching them.

Needing reassurance before he risks smuggling her into the Republic, Gideon demands to know Rune’s real plan. While keeping up their marital charade with increasingly intimate touches under the table, Rune decides to tell him part of the truth: she wants to find the missing Roseblood heir and warn that person about Cressida’s plans. She reveals she has Cressida’s hair hidden in a locket, stolen while Cressida slept, and says she can use it in a summoning spell to draw the heir to a place of her choosing. Gideon remains skeptical, arguing that Rune could just as easily deliver the heir to Cressida or use the sibyl to aid a wider war, but Rune insists she wants to escape both Cressida and Soren and disappear.

As the officer continues watching, Rune chooses to strengthen the act herself. She touches Gideon’s mouth, then guides his hand higher on her thigh to make their performance look convincing, testing whether his apparent desire is real or only strategy. Gideon is visibly affected, and the charged exchange threatens to become something more serious just as a woman’s voice interrupts them by recognizing him as Captain Sharpe.