From Kingfisher’s point of view, Lorreth explains in the overheated fire sprite quarters beneath Cahlish that Archer’s life depends on brimstone. Archer lies unconscious after the infected feeder’s attack while Saeris and Carrion, burned from saving Archer, watch for signs that Archer is still breathing.

Lorreth and Iseabail reveal that brimstone is a finite, life-sustaining element within fire sprites. It can destroy the rot, as Archer’s lost brimstone killed the feeder and stopped the infection spreading through nearby vines, but fire sprites cannot replace what they lose. Archer survives only because Archer’s pyre, his family-community, has donated some of their own brimstone to restore Archer’s core heat.

Saeris realizes the devastating consequence: although brimstone can stop the rot, using enough to cleanse Yvelia and kill infected feeders would require sacrificing every fire sprite. The discovery offers proof that the rot can be burned away, but it does not provide a usable solution, leaving Kingfisher and Saeris still trapped by the larger threat.

Later, Saeris and Kingfisher sit on Cahlish’s roof before dawn, drinking and trying to breathe after the heat and panic below. Saeris compares the open view to Zilvaren’s walled rooftops, and Kingfisher tells her a story about his father bargaining with a graven for a love potion. The tale ends with Kingfisher explaining that love cannot be coerced without stealing free will, and that Archer was the one who told Kingfisher most of the stories about Kingfisher’s father.

Kingfisher then brings Saeris to the huntsman’s cottage in a dreamlike place where the sun cannot harm Saeris. As sunrise comes over the mountains, Kingfisher asks Saeris to set aside the rot, Ammontraíeth, and Everlayne for a brief moment of peace. Saeris and Kingfisher speak openly about fear, control, and choice: Kingfisher admits he never wanted to lose Saeris but refused to shelter or compel her because Saeris’s path had to remain her own.

Saeris thanks Kingfisher for not trying to control her, and Kingfisher promises to catch or carry Saeris whenever she needs it. Saeris says Kingfisher may need to face the sun for her and that Saeris will become Kingfisher’s shadow. Kingfisher answers that, like Kingfisher’s father, Kingfisher’s strength has always been Kingfisher’s shadows, turning the moment into both a vow of love and a reflection on mutual freedom.