During the party’s long sleigh journey to Fyngaard for the Bitter Gales, Maddie relaxes with Circe, Finnie, and Meeta at an inn and reflects on how exhausted she is by travel. The women joke about their husbands’ foolish fatherly behavior, and Maddie notices how much she now craves this sense of family. At the same time, Maddie watches Apollo and Chris closely and sees that Chris is still guarded, though his willingness to sit through dinner and stay near Elan marks slow progress.

Maddie also reflects on how much her life has changed. Apollo is balancing time with Maddie and his children without pressuring Chris, and Elan has become openly affectionate with Maddie. Because Apollo has openly declared his love and Maddie has returned it, Maddie feels a new stability and happiness that she has never fully known before.

Later that night, Elan falls asleep while reading to Maddie, and Gaston points out that Elan is trying to impress Maddie by reversing their usual routine. Wanting to act like a friend, Maddie visits Loretta and gently asks why Loretta has rejected Hans. Loretta admits that Hans first pursued her only for bedplay, made her feel used and inadequate afterward, and only seemed to value her after seeing her bravery in Brunskar. Maddie tells Loretta that Hans may have been shallow at first but later truly saw her, and she urges Loretta to stop testing him and speak honestly if she wants a real future.

As Maddie leaves Loretta’s room, Chris unexpectedly speaks to her directly in the hall. Chris asks whether Maddie convinced Loretta to be with Hans because, in Chris’s view, the handsome soldier should win the maiden he wants. Maddie answers gently that stories have twists and that they must wait to see how Loretta’s story ends. The exchange matters because Chris starts the conversation himself, accepts Maddie’s answer, and even returns her goodnight, giving Maddie and Apollo a clear sign that his resistance is easing.

Maddie rushes to Apollo with the news, and Apollo is delighted by Chris’s initiative. In bed, the moment turns intimate and deeply emotional when Apollo asks Maddie to marry him. Maddie says yes, and when Apollo asks if she will spend her life with him and try to make a baby with him, Maddie agrees to that too. The chapter ends with both of them settled together in bed, openly happy and holding tightly to the fragile, hard-won joy they have built.