Niclays Roos stands at the prow of the Pursuit as it sails through the Sundance Sea. The ship had spent weeks docked at Kawontay, a shadow market city where pirates and merchants trade in defiance of the sea ban. The crew loaded provisions, sweet water, and large quantities of gunpowder for the return journey. The Golden Empress ultimately decided not to sell Nayimathun, instead keeping the dragon as leverage against the High Sea Guard.

Niclays secretly keeps a vial of Nayimathun's blood and a scale he carved from the dragon, examining them nightly despite being haunted by the memory of the dragon's gaze as he cut its armor. When the High Sea Guard and Seiikianese dragonriders confronted the fleet, the Golden Empress sent a warning via rowing boat: she would gut Nayimathun if any harm came to her ship or if they were followed. She sent one of the dragon's teeth as proof she still held the creature, and the pursuing forces fell back, though they likely trail at a distance.

Laya Yidagé joins Niclays and reports that Nayimathun appears to be dying—her scales are drying out, and buckets of seawater are insufficient to keep her alive without full immersion. Laya then proposes an escape plan: if they find the mulberry tree and the elixir of life, the Golden Empress will likely take them north to the City of the Thousand Flowers to sell the elixir to the House of Lakseng. From there, Laya and Niclays could escape into the city, flee on foot to Kawontay, and hire Ersyri smugglers to cross the Abyss. Laya promises her family would pay for Niclays's passage as well. If no mulberry tree exists, Laya grimly advises Niclays to throw himself into the sea rather than face the Golden Empress's wrath.

Niclays reflects on the meaning of home. Rozentun holds only his estranged mother; the Mentish court where he loved Edvart is gone; Inys was a disaster. Ultimately, home was always Jannart, who died pursuing the legend of the tree. Niclays resolves that he cannot abandon the quest without learning its secret. He dreams of settling in Brygstad, teaching alchemy, and finding Truyde to be a grandfather figure to her—honoring Jannart's memory. As the Pursuit pushes into deeper waters, Niclays and Laya watch the stars emerge, both aware that whatever awaits them will bring either resolution or death.