Trapped in a violent magical storm, Kiela pounds on Larran's door as cloud-serpents form in the sky. Larran pulls her inside, gives her dry clothes, and they shelter together while the storm rages. Kiela worries about Caz back at the cottage, but Larran assures her the cottage is sheltered. They discuss how the unbalanced magic causes increasingly frequent and dangerous storms that the emperor's sorcerers neglect to defuse.

Larran shows Kiela the storm through a small unblocked window, and they watch together as magical shapes form in the clouds and merhorses dance with the lightning. Standing close, Kiela becomes acutely aware of Larran and considers kissing him, uncertain whether he would welcome it.

The moment is broken when Larran spots a small foreign boat foundering in the waves. Despite Kiela's protests, he insists on attempting a rescue, telling her to watch for his knock. He braves the jetty, summons a merhorse, and rides into the maelstrom while Kiela watches in terror, fearing he has drowned.

Larran returns carrying an unconscious survivor: a slight, pale woman with flame-red hair. Kiela helps bring her inside and dresses her in dry clothes while Larran tends to his own injuries, including a bleeding scrape on his calf which Kiela bandages. Exhausted and shaken, Kiela tells Larran she's glad he didn't die, and he agrees, as the magical storm continues to rage outside.