After the ambush, Vis returns from the mist shaken and tells Tara that he saw a white-cloaked rider who escaped before Vis could get close. Because Fearghus is badly wounded and the band is exhausted, Tara sends Miach ahead to warn Pádraig, then leads the others to a concealed hollow to camp for the night. Once Fearghus is asleep, Tara presses Vis for the truth, and Vis admits that the rider strongly reminded him of his father and that the strange sense which warned him at Loch Traenala vanished when the man rode away.

When Seanna asks whether the man could really have been Vis's father, Vis reveals that his father, Cristoval, King of Suus, was unjustly executed five years earlier. Conor and Seanna then tell Vis that they saw signs of the nasceann in him, and Tara questions him about Fornax and his unusual ability to sense power in weapons and people. Tara concludes that Vis truly is nasceann, and Seanna explains that the spear Vis carries once belonged to Tara's father's Champion and would only be taken up by a worthy successor. That realization explains why so many people were angry when Vis chose it to challenge Gallchobhar.

The discussion turns to Gallchobhar and Tara's past. Tara reveals that years earlier attackers entered her room, killed Artán, and mutilated her by cutting away her birthright rather than killing her; Gallchobhar then killed the attackers and used that act to gain advancement. Vis infers that Fiachra and Ruarc arranged the attack, with Gallchobhar's help, to force King Rónán into an impossible position under the Old Ways, and Tara confirms the political trap. Tara explains that she had already been trained in the nasceann at Fornax and chose exile because war had become inevitable.

After that, the mood shifts into mutual confession. Conor speaks about never satisfying his parents because he has not yet been Called, Seanna says her father offered her up because he wanted a son, and Fearghus says he fights not for a king's glory but to protect his home, family, and friends. Moved by their honesty and by the bond formed through battle, Vis finally tells the whole truth about Suus, the invasion, the Hierarchy, his scars, the Academy, the Labyrinth, and his arrival here. The others listen without judgment, and when Conor calls him brother, Vis feels for the first time in years that he belongs.

The next morning, as the band walks back without pursuit, Tara tells Vis that he must speak to the draoi when they arrive and likely leave with them to learn about the nasceann. Tara says Vis is a capable fighter and loyal companion but not truly meant for the Bródúil, because he has never fully committed himself to this life; even the name Leathfhear, she explains, refers to the missing half in his heart rather than his missing arm. Vis is hurt and unsettled, but he also recognizes the truth in Tara's judgment. By the end of the chapter, Vis understands that he cannot remain half-engaged forever and must choose his path.