Nes­ryn, exhaust­ed yet unable to rest, finds her­self drawn to Kadara’s minaret after the group’s return to Anti­ca. She delib­er­ate­ly avoids Chaol and Yrene’s reunion, under­stand­ing their need for pri­va­cy after Chaol’s near-death expe­ri­ence. As she con­tem­plates find­ing new quar­ters for her­self and her companions—including Borte and Falkan, who joined them—a page deliv­ers a let­ter from her uncle. The mes­sage, dat­ed two weeks pri­or, caus­es her hands to trem­ble before she races up the minaret stairs, urgency pro­pelling her for­ward.

Upon read­ing the let­ter, Nes­ryn swift­ly mounts her ruk, Salkhi, and flies to her uncle’s home in the Run­ni Quar­ter. The ruk’s dra­mat­ic arrival stirs awe and fear among the onlook­ers. When her fam­i­ly bursts through the gates—her father stand­ing at the forefront—Nesryn col­laps­es to her knees, over­whelmed with emo­tion. The reunion is tear­ful and joy­ous, with her fam­i­ly recount­ing their per­ilous jour­ney to Anti­ca and their deci­sion to stay dur­ing the war. Nesryn’s bond with Salkhi, whom she claimed as her own after his pre­vi­ous rider’s death, sym­bol­izes her new­found strength and iden­ti­ty.

Two hours lat­er, Prince Sar­taq arrives, drawn by the com­mo­tion caused by the ruks in the street. He greets Nesryn’s father with respect, caus­ing Sayed Faliq vis­i­ble shock. The children’s exu­ber­ant reac­tion to Kadara and Salkhi light­ens the mood, with even Nesryn’s sis­ter, Delara, momen­tar­i­ly for­get­ting her embar­rass­ment in the pres­ence of the prince. Sartaq’s unex­pect­ed vis­it and warm inter­ac­tion with her fam­i­ly stir deep emo­tions in Nes­ryn, hint­ing at their grow­ing con­nec­tion. Delara’s teas­ing glance and Nesryn’s play­ful response under­score the famil­ial bonds and Nesryn’s per­son­al growth.

The chap­ter cul­mi­nates in a blend of per­son­al and polit­i­cal sig­nif­i­cance. Nesryn’s reunion with her fam­i­ly reaf­firms her roots, while Sartaq’s pres­ence sig­nals his sup­port and the deep­en­ing alliance between them. The children’s rev­er­ence for the ruks mir­rors Nesryn’s own jour­ney from uncer­tain­ty to con­fi­dence. The scene cap­tures a moment of respite and joy amidst the loom­ing war, high­light­ing themes of fam­i­ly, iden­ti­ty, and the bonds forged through shared tri­als. The chap­ter ends on a hope­ful note, with Nes­ryn poised between her past and her future.