Livira marks a self-chosen thirteenth birthday and prepares for her first return to the city since entering the mountain. She thinks of Evar and her early, perilous month in the library, then the long lull that followed. While she grows in reading, languages, and friendships, she remains frustrated by blocked doors and disbelief about her earlier access to a forbidden chamber.

Determined to learn the library’s origins and reach the Exchange, she pushes into distant chambers for scraps of lore. A recent discovery—a child’s illustrated tale of rival brothers, Irad and Jaspeth, warring over the first library—lingers with her, suggesting truths disguised as fable and shaping how she imagines the forces barring her path.

Master Logaris’s challenge sends Livira and Arpix outside to deliver a haul of requested books. The sun and wind overwhelm Livira, and a guard cautions her. As they descend, Arpix notes how the library’s internal map must not meet the mountain’s, and they speak of inaccessible chambers and the disbelieved mechanical raven that once let Livira pass.

In the lower streets, Salamonda calls Livira into Yute’s home, feeds Arpix, and sends Livira upstairs. Livira finds Yute with the great cat Wentworth amid instruments and clockwork. He surprises her by acknowledging her opening of a forbidden chamber and produces a heavy, sharp-edged black feather—evidence from the mechanical guide—insisting she keep it.

Yute warns that citizens will judge her origins and that society is crueler than individuals. He then assigns Livira to deduce the library’s greatest curse, hinting at others as well. Pointing to Crath’s uncanny pace of change, he urges her to ask where they came from, where they are going, and whether this path has been walked before. He confides that some truths are too heavy to bear alone and ends with a stark claim: they are trapped.