Three months after the main conflict, Rune stands inside Wintersea House on the night of a formal celebration held in her honor. Carriages arrive beneath a full moon, and guests in elegant clothes fill the ballroom below, but Rune is visibly nervous. Although she has survived war, betrayal, and the fight against Cressida, the prospect of facing a room full of supporters makes her want to escape.

Rune slips away to her bedchamber and then to her casting room, where she opens a window and prepares to climb out into the gardens. Gideon catches her before she can flee and questions her excuse about checking the paths. When he presses her, Rune tries to distract him by suggesting they abandon the party for a naked swim and by fixing his poorly tied cravat while flirting with him.

Gideon does not let Rune avoid the real issue. He reminds her that the guests are there to celebrate her because she has been elected to represent her district in Cascadia's new House of Commons, where thirteen officials now share power and witches hold six seats while non-witches hold seven. Rune finally admits that she is afraid the public will not like the real Rune Winters and that she may fail the people depending on her.

Gideon reassures Rune that there is no need for perfection and that if this new political order fails in some way, they will keep working until it succeeds. The chapter also reveals that Rune and Gideon are now married. Instead of rings, they bear matching casting scars from wedding spells Rune used to bind them to truthful vows in a ceremony Antonio officiated.

Gideon takes Rune's hand and leads her from the casting room to the top of the stairs overlooking the ballroom, where their friends and guests turn to see them. Rune hesitates one last time, still tempted by the open window behind her, but Gideon promises they can return to her idea of a moonlit swim after the party ends. Arm in arm, they face the crowd together as Gideon asks if she is ready to help make a new world.