Raeve bursts out of the stairwell in anger and humiliation after following Kaan into the hidden moon tomb. Shaken by the dead Moonplume he believes was hers and by the realization that Kaan carries that Moonplume on his back, Raeve turns her fury on herself, calls herself an idiot, grabs her knapsack, and steals several blades before trying to leave Kaan's suite at once.

Kaan cuts her off at the door, but he does not try to restrain her. Instead, he presses a heavy satchel of bloodstone into Raeve's hand and tells her she will need it once she crosses the border. The gesture is practical and unexpectedly considerate, complicating Raeve's attempt to reduce him to an enemy she can simply walk away from.

Kaan then takes Raeve's face in his hands and speaks with open bitterness and grief. Calling her "Elluin Raeve" and "Moonbeam," he tells her to chase death and spend her life alone, haunted by the screams she cannot explain, all because she loved that Moonplume so deeply. He reveals that scavengers raided the dragon's impact zone and scattered her remains, and that he has spent twenty-three phases piecing the Moonplume back together in the hope of giving Raeve's spirit peace.

Kaan holds Raeve's injured hand, admits that simply knowing she exists gives him peace, kisses her temple, and then leaves first, disappearing into the adjoining room. Raeve briefly considers following him to ask whether "Raeve" was Elluin's surname and to learn more about the past he has uncovered, but she rejects that impulse. She leaves with the bloodstone and heads toward the hutch and the western edge of the cove, only to realize that, despite intending to escape, she does not actually want to leave yet.