Confronted in the cave, Radane explains she is a distant sixteenth-in-line cousin to the former emperor, a wind-speaker student who fled Alyssium after revolutionaries began executing potential heirs. Loyalists want to use her as a figurehead for civil war, while bloodthirsty revolutionary factions want her dead. She disguised her noble status with red hair and posed as an investigator using her aunt's gifted boat and badge to steal spellbooks for hiding spells. She confirms the empire is no longer hunting Kiela politically, but admits Kiela's spellwork could still technically be prosecuted under unrevised laws.

Caz remains skeptical, so Kiela tests Radane with obscure questions about high noble customs and the Great Library that only an insider would know. Radane describes a specific librarian and Oppeindone's atrocious handwriting, convincing Kiela she is genuine. Radane apologizes for taking the cookbook and promises to return it, explaining she did it to seem credible as an investigator.

The group sails back to Kiela's cove, where Larran offers to build Kiela bookshelves now that she's staying — a gesture that overwhelms her with happiness. Radane, still desperate to disappear, offers her ruby for a spellbook, but Kiela refuses to sell library property and questions whether a hidden life is truly what Radane wants.

Bryn arrives, immediately offering to hide Kiela if needed. Learning of Radane's situation, Bryn proposes hiding her in plain sight: working at the bakery and being absorbed into the community. Bryn shares her own painful past — disowned for loving a woman from a rival clan, her wife killed by Bryn's uncle, and the people of Caltrey lying to a hired killer to protect her. She offers Radane the same chance: a room above the bakery and a new identity as a longtime islander. Radane accepts, asking why they are being kind, and Kiela answers simply, "Because we can."