As Kaan and Raeve fly north on Rygun, Raeve hides under Kaan’s cloak to escape the harsh sun and studies the land below. She notices the River Ahgt and the shift from scorched plains to russet jungle and mountains, while privately reaffirming two goals: she must not let Kaan take her to Dhomm, and she still wants revenge on Rekk Zharos for Essi’s death and her own torture.

Rygun dives through a narrow gorge and carries them to a hidden basin fed by a waterfall. Kaan warns Raeve to hold on, braces her tightly during the dangerous descent, and after landing notices that she has split her lip. When Raeve nearly collapses from the painful ride, Kaan throws her over his shoulder, carries her to the pool, and dumps her into the water so she can wash. Their banter over a bar of soap is sharp and mocking, but it also shows an unexpected ease beneath Raeve’s hostility.

While Kaan bathes, Raeve studies him and realizes how scarred he is. His back and chest are covered in wounds, his thighs bear old burns, and his back is inked with moons, including the small misshapen moon Raeve loves and a large silver moon that has already fallen. Raeve also notices the amulet at his throat, showing a Sabersythe and a Moonplume together. The sight unsettles her because it suggests grief, history, and a depth she had not expected from her captor.

Raeve then notices that the pool’s water tingles, and Kaan explains that it has healing properties. When he takes out the metal prongs needed to remove the iron pin from her shoulder, Raeve threatens him and backs away, but Kaan bluntly tells her the wound is infected and that she will be dead within two rises if the pin stays in place. Because Raeve’s hands are still bound, she cannot remove it herself. Forced to choose survival over pride, she finally turns and lets him work.

As Kaan digs the pin out, Raeve questions him, and he reveals that he spent much of his youth with the Johkull Clan after his father sent him away at nine for only hearing Ignos and Bulder. Kaan says his father believed harsh training might make him worthy of respect. When Raeve asks what became of that father, Kaan says he cut off his head and fed him to Rygun after discovering that his father had done something unforgivable to a woman Kaan loved, Elluin. Kaan removes the pin, but when Raeve asks what happened to Elluin, he answers only that she died. He then dresses and leaves abruptly, abandoning Raeve in the blood-clouded pool with fresh pain and new unease about the man holding her captive.