Paedyn watches her father’s dagger finish its flight and lodge in the king’s throat, killing him instantly. Although she trembles at the sight of the corpse, Paedyn realizes what she feels is not remorse but relief. She moves to retrieve the dagger, but a young dark-haired girl sees the scene, and Paedyn recognizes the witness as a Sight who likely recorded the murder.

Hearing someone else approaching through the tunnel, Paedyn is forced to choose between staying for her dagger and escaping. Because she has no time to risk capture, she abandons the blade and runs despite her injuries and exhaustion. As she flees into the storm, a knife slices her forearm, forcing her to stop and turn.

Kai stands before her covered in blood, ready to throw another blade. Seeing him triggers Paedyn’s memory of her father’s death with new clarity: it was Kai, acting under the king’s orders, who drove the sword into her father’s chest. That realization explains the strange familiarity and pull Paedyn has always felt toward Kai, but it also confirms that the man she loves is her father’s killer. At the same time, Paedyn understands that by killing the king, she has made herself the murderer of Kai’s father.

Kai’s first thrown knife has missed on purpose, revealing his hesitation. He demands to know what Paedyn has done to him and admits he should kill her for murdering his father, yet cannot make himself do it because he still cares for her. Furious at his own weakness, Kai calls himself a fool and gives Paedyn a head start, swearing that if he catches her later he will not falter again. Paedyn finally forces herself to run, seeing Kai drop to his knees beside the dead king, and she does not look back.