Alone in her room after fleeing Kaan, Raeve tries to steady herself while still shaken by how much she wants him. The smell of him on her skin and the memory of their near intimacy tempt her to go back, but Raeve decides that staying will only deepen a bond she does not trust herself to survive. She spots the window, realizes she can fit through it, and chooses escape over desire.

Raeve dresses for movement, opens the window during the storm, and climbs down the trellis outside. Once on the ground, she runs into the jungle, driven by the need to put distance between herself and Kaan before more emotional damage is done. As she retraces the path toward the clearing, Raeve compares this flight to an earlier escape from suffering, recognizing that this time she is running from safety, pleasure, and care rather than cruelty.

At the clearing, Raeve weighs her options. She rejects the route along the cliff-top because Kaan, as a warrior king who likely knows the mountains, could corner her there. Instead, she decides to climb down toward the river, believing the shoreline will give her water, cover, and a way back toward the wall.

Raeve descends the first cliff carefully despite the rain and reaches a lower plateau beside a pool swollen by the storm-fed waterfall. She pauses long enough to judge the rising water and begins to lower herself over the next drop. Although the conditions are dangerous, Raeve presses on because she believes capture by Kaan would make escape impossible.

Then a flock of birds bursts from the jungle, and Raeve instantly reads it as a warning that Kaan is coming. Panicked, she rushes her descent, scraping her hands and feet. Before she can get clear, a terrible creak splits the air and a torrent of water, rocks, and uprooted trees crashes into her, tearing her from the cliff; a blow to her head knocks her into darkness.