In a storm-dark cave above Dhomm, Raeve helps keep the young Moonplume Líri still while Agni begins repairing a large tear in the dragon's wing. Using ghorsi grass and instinctive soothing words, Raeve calms Líri enough for Agni to etch a single heavy bind of runes. Agni then realizes Raeve has been speaking fluent southern tongue without meaning to, which unsettles Raeve because it suggests more buried knowledge tied to her fractured past.

The repair succeeds as new flesh closes the hole in Líri's wing, but the effort overwhelms Agni and she faints from exhaustion. Raeve revives her, orders her to rest, and takes over cleaning the scattered tools and tinctures. When Agni gently acknowledges that Líri's suffering must be especially hard for Raeve to witness and admits that Raeve shines even brighter than the dragon, Raeve understands that Agni has seen her hidden gift and firmly insists that Kaan must not be told.

After Agni leaves, Raeve stays with Líri until Kaan arrives at the cave. Raeve quietly leads him to the entrance so they do not wake the dragon, and she sees Rygun waiting outside in the rain. There, Raeve confirms that the hutchkeepers identified Líri as belonging to Rekk Zharos and asks whether Rekk is truly searching for The Shade's missing princess; Kaan confirms that he is and presses Raeve to explain what Rekk did to her.

Raeve finally admits that Rekk took someone she loved, and Kaan's anger sharpens when he asks whether Rekk was also the man who whipped her. Raeve refuses to answer, sensing that the truth might drive Kaan past the political restraint keeping Rekk alive on Burn soil. Kaan explains that Rekk will remain in Dhomm for a few more cycles, that his party is effectively confined, and that his route back toward Gore will likely pass through Ovadhan and then Bothaim, neutral territory at the border. As Raeve begins shaping a plan around that information, Kaan preempts her request by promising to arrange her departure once Líri is healed and asks Raeve to come back to him and to them, showing that he is choosing trust over control.