29 South

Tunuva and Hidat return to the Priory through the forest tunnel, learning the spring still boils and that Siyu’s labor is imminent but she remains isolated by Saghul’s decree. After washing and reuniting with Esbar, Tunuva is brought before Prioress Saghul and a rare guest: Canthe, a pale, Inys-born woman who claims to be a mage and former guardian of a siden hawthorn.

Over a tense meal, Canthe explains that Inys once had a hawthorn siden tree and the East had a mulberry; both are now dead. Driven out by her people, she returned to find the hawthorn destroyed, yet she has not aged since first eating its fruit. She sensed the Priory’s orange tree when the Dreadmount erupted and seeks to join their protection.

In private, Saghul asks Tunuva and Esbar whether to accept or silence Canthe. The debate intertwines with unresolved matters: Anyso remains imprisoned to spare Siyu stress; his family has been misled and ceased searching. Esbar urges rejection, citing Siyāti’s prohibition and distrust of Canthe; Tunuva argues Canthe’s knowledge could help. Saghul, looking sallow and coughing, decides Canthe may stay under watch, without fruit, while she deliberates.

Tunuva then reports months of ranging: disappearances near fire mountains and hot springs across the Ersyr and the discovery of large, dark, siden-suffused boulders hidden in caves that feel as if something might hatch. She requests sisters to investigate, and Saghul orders a written account and postpones Tunuva’s visit to Siyu until the birth, which Tunuva may attend.

After a troubled nap filled with choking dreams, Tunuva eats with Esbar, who massages her aching shoulder. They discuss Canthe’s lodging, Siyu’s isolation, and Saghul’s age and illness. Esbar reveals Saghul allowed Siyu to eat of the tree once the child quickened so the fruit would know them both. Though Tunuva senses their family fraying—Siyu’s scandal, Gashan’s wavering faith, Saghul’s decline—Esbar vows constancy. The lovers fall asleep together, uncertain of what change approaches.