Cassie uses Drummond’s copy of the Book of Doors to return to her old home in darkness, thick with sweat, blood, and impending death. The house feels alien to her now, but she came to prove the book works and to face a moment that has haunted her.

In the bedroom, Cassie finds her grandfather dying in bed and a younger version of Cassie asleep in a chair, exhausted from keeping vigil. Dawn light begins to creep through the drapes, and Cassie briefly looks outside at the workshop and the spring wildflowers, vivid in the morning.

Her grandfather notices Cassie and, in pain, tells her he had hoped to see her again. Cassie sits with him and admits she wanted to be present this time because she had slept through the moment before.

Cassie gives her grandfather the Book of Joy, placing it in his hands with the intention of replacing his suffering with happiness. As soon as he holds it, his agony drains away; his face relaxes, his eyes clear, and the book sparks with brilliant light.

Filled with joy, Cassie’s grandfather reminisces about his workshop and Cassie reading while he worked, then marvels at the beauty and colors of the flowers outside. Cassie stays with him as he slips away peacefully, the book’s colors fading as he dies. Taking the Book of Joy with her, Cassie leaves the room—knowing her younger self will soon wake to the old grief, but believing that, for her, it will haunt her no more—and walks out of the house with one final stop to make before returning to the Fox Library and her future.