Four days after their fight, Maddie sits alone in the dower house and realizes Apollo has completely stayed away. Her anger gives way to loneliness and practical fear as she tries to imagine a future in Lunwyn without him. Maddie concludes that her choices are painfully limited, admits that marrying Apollo would not have been a bad life, and feels devastated by the possibility that he no longer wants her.

Cristiana finds Maddie brooding and gently but firmly tells her that she must be the one to mend the breach. Drawing on her long experience at Karsvall, Cristiana describes how deeply Apollo loved Ilsa, how much that loss darkened him, and how different his bond with Maddie has been. She warns that Apollo is too proud and stubborn to come first, urges Maddie to communicate honestly rather than manipulate him, and makes Maddie see that Apollo has needs and responsibilities she has not fully respected.

Shaken into action, Maddie hurries through the snow to Karsvall and asks Achilles for Apollo. Achilles tells her Apollo is preparing to leave for the Drakkar seat before the coming gale, and Maddie rushes to his rooms. Apollo initially receives her with cold distance, tells her he is leaving for three weeks, and seems ready to send her away, which convinces Maddie she may have come too late.

When Apollo presses her to explain herself, Maddie finally speaks openly. She tells him about her abusive marriage to Pol, her father turning her away after a brutal beating, and her lifelong inability to trust being cared for. Maddie explains that she asked for time not because she rejects Apollo, but because she does not yet know how to live safely or understand herself; she also reveals that, in her world, introducing a new partner to children is handled much more slowly, so she feared rushing his children into change.

Apollo listens, then immediately changes course. He orders preparations for Maddie, Loretta, and Meeta to travel with him and the children to Brunskar, promises that after they return Maddie may stay in the dower house as long as she needs while still spending time with him and his children, and asks her to keep sharing honestly so he can understand her. He also accepts her point about giving Christophe and Élan more time. The children are summoned, Élan is delighted that Maddie is coming, Christophe is pleased as well, and the chapter ends with the party setting out in the snow, Maddie feeling hopeful again.