Violet leads Cat, Sloane, and Visia down a treacherous, snowy ridgeline to a cave while Tairn scouts for additional energy signatures. Tensions flare—Cat needles Sloane, and Violet redirects the conflict, reaffirming her promise to protect Sloane. Inside, Violet wrestles with claustrophobic memories but presses on as Tairn explains the cave network once sheltered dragons.

In the darkness, the group lacks mage lights. Violet channels through her maorsite conduit to illuminate the cave, then uses that power to ignite Cat’s torch. The practical cooperation softens hostility: Cat admits Violet’s power and control unsettle her, and reveals gryphon riders share runes. The team chooses the right-hand tunnel.

As they travel, Sloane mentions that second signets usually occur when a dragon bonds a rider in the familial line of its previous, unsettling Violet. They find a plain metal chest held open by a summoning rune. Cat deftly counters the rune; the chest clicks shut and is secured. Andarna scents nearby dragons—not wyvern—so they hurry to leave, with Visia carrying the chest and planning to use the earned pass to reach her family at the border.

At the fork, a massive, one-eyed orange dragon—Solas—blocks their path, growling. In the shock, Violet drops and shatters her conduit orb. She yanks Cat backward as Solas swats Visia into the cave wall with a sickening crack. With Solas drawing breath and fire building, Violet mentally screams for Tairn as the chapter ends in immediate peril.