Cassie, Drummond, Izzy, Azaki, and Lund emerge from the Fox Library’s shadow-state into bright daylight, finding the real house restored on a hillside in the northwest Scottish Highlands. They pause to enjoy the fresh air and quiet, and Cassie notices deer watching from the lawn as before. Lund, still clutching the Book of Safety, seems stabilized but not healed from his gunshot.

Inside the main library, Drummond serves tea/coffee and shortbread while the group takes in the house and its shelves. The conversation turns to what comes next; Cassie suggests returning to “normal,” but Drummond argues that dangerous special books are still out there and will be misused. Izzy points out the Bookseller woman still has the Book of Pain, underscoring the continuing threat.

Drummond proposes reviving the Fox Library not just as a meeting place, but as an active effort to protect and preserve special books. He offers to hire Cassie, Izzy, Azaki, and Lund—using the library’s resources—to work as researchers and book hunters with “the right intentions.” Azaki accepts, Izzy negotiates (and is reassured she will be paid), Cassie agrees for both herself and Izzy, and Lund signals yes but insists he needs the bullet dealt with.

To help Lund, Drummond leads Cassie up the hidden staircase to the tower cupboards and retrieves the Book of Healing. Then Drummond shows Cassie something else: the Fox Library has held a copy of the Book of Doors for over a century, but it had been unusable and lacked the identifying text. When Cassie touches it, the familiar words appear on the first page, confirming it is the same book.

Drummond explains that the two Books of Doors are one book at different points in its own timeline, like overlapping versions of Cassie during time travel. He admits he considered destroying the book but could not, and he gives this earlier copy to Cassie. Cassie works out the loop: this must be the copy she originally received in New York, meaning she will have to give it to Mr. Webber so he can later pass it to her—then, planning next steps, she asks to borrow another of Drummond’s books before they return downstairs to heal Lund and discuss their future.