Cassie meets Lottie Moore again in New Orleans, as they arranged years earlier, late at night at Café Du Monde in Jackson Square. Lottie is already waiting with coffee and beignets, and Cassie orders a café au lait while taking in the lively street scene outside.

Cassie asks if Lottie believes her now, and Lottie confirms that the events Cassie predicted did happen, making the second meeting worth the risk. Cassie reminds Lottie of their agreement: Lottie will provide protection for Cassie’s friend Izzy.

Cassie explains that Izzy is currently asleep and needs someone watching over her immediately, then escorted somewhere safe in the morning. Cassie says she will email the details closer to the time, and Lottie accepts this plan without argument.

Cassie then demands the second part of what she came for: a book she can borrow to help her deal with Hugo Barbary. Lottie challenges Cassie’s thinking by asking why Cassie wouldn’t simply use the Book of Doors to undo the past once she recovers it; Cassie replies that time travel seems self-consistent and that she would not erase the years that ultimately mattered to her.

Lottie signals to a man across the café, introducing him as Elias, her “bookkeeper,” who brings a locked briefcase. Lottie reveals she will lend Cassie the one book she never sells—an heirloom that keeps her safe—but warns Cassie that the price is absolute: once Cassie recovers the Book of Doors, Cassie must hand over both books, and if Cassie betrays her, Lottie will hunt her down and kill her.

Cassie accepts the terms, and Lottie presents a pristine white volume: the Book of Safety. Cassie takes it, feels its strange lightness, and reads enough to understand its power—if Cassie carries it, Cassie cannot be harmed—leaving Cassie confident that Hugo Barbary “wouldn’t be a problem.”