Three days after planning the excursion, Chaol joins Yrene and Hasar’s party in the palace courtyard. Because Chaol is riding without his brace, the royals give Chaol a fierce black Muniqi mare named Farasha, whose name means butterfly but whose temperament is anything but gentle. Chaol refuses to ask for an easier horse, while Yrene watches Chaol closely and prepares Chaol’s cane on her saddle.

Hasar explains the Muniqi horses’ desert breeding and Fae ancestry before leading the company out of Antica. The group includes nobles, guards, hounds, Kashin, Arghun, and others, though Hasar has invited none of Yrene’s fellow Torre healers. Once the riders pass through the city and eastern gate, Hasar, Kashin, and many nobles race ahead, treating the road and cleared towns like a playground.

Chaol and Yrene continue more slowly with some of the party, climbing a rocky hill where horses are watered before the final desert crossing. From the summit, Chaol sees the vast golden desert for the first time and is overwhelmed by its stark, savage beauty. Yrene says the desert sings to her, and Chaol understands, seeing quiet, cleanliness, and life in the apparently barren landscape.

Chaol dismounts with difficulty but without Yrene steadying him, and Yrene checks his spine and legs with her healing magic. When it is time to mount again without a block, Chaol struggles but forces himself into the saddle using his cane and strength, proving a measure of independence. Yrene praises Chaol, and the two continue across the dunes toward the green oasis where the party will camp.

As the land flattens near the oasis, Chaol sees a chance to test Farasha’s speed against Yrene’s mare. Chaol challenges Yrene to a race and names a kiss, at a time and place of Chaol’s choosing, as the prize. Yrene accepts by racing after Chaol, and the two gallop across the desert; Chaol is struck by Yrene’s joy and realizes that Yrene has helped give Chaol this sense of freedom, wakefulness, and gratitude.