Hadrian meets Demetri Arello, the Jaddian Free Trader captain hired to take him away from Delos. Demetri explains that his ship, the Eurynasir, is fast but not luxurious, and that the journey to Teukros will not be direct. Because Demetri intends to trade along the way by Obatala and Siena, the voyage will take thirteen years.

Kyra, anxious because she has left her duties and may already be missed, presses for speed. Demetri confirms he has been paid in advance and promised more on Teukros, but he worries that transporting a noble could involve him in dangerous Delian politics. Hadrian reassures Demetri by revealing that he is fleeing seminary and the Terran Chantry, which makes Demetri more willing to accept the risk.

Demetri continues probing and realizes Hadrian is not merely “Hadrian” but Hadrian Marlowe. Hadrian shows the Marlowe ring rather than continue denying it. Demetri connects Hadrian to the earlier public story about an attack after the Colosso, and Hadrian reacts angrily when Demetri mischaracterizes the place as a brothel. With the situation clarified, Demetri decides they should leave at once.

The scene shifts to Karch, a crowded, rough port at the edge of Delos. Hadrian, Kyra, and two plainclothes legionnaires carrying Hadrian’s trunk move through the crush of people and pontoon docks toward the Eurynasir. Hadrian studies the ship and finds it serviceable but battered, its dark hull cracked, patched, and salt-caked.

At the ship, Hadrian dismisses Kyra and the legionnaires. Hadrian apologizes to Kyra for the danger and loss his escape has caused her and urges her to seek Liliana’s protection from the castle and from Crispin. Kyra gives little response, then leaves with the soldiers, becoming the last familiar face Hadrian sees before departure.

Demetri hurries Hadrian aboard. Hadrian checks that he still has his knife, identification, money, Gibson’s letter, and the valuable universal card from Lena Balem and the Mining Guild. Realizing that the card and his bloodline could let him make a new life almost anywhere, Hadrian briefly imagines other futures, but chooses Teukros first and steps into the Eurynasir, leaving Delos behind.