In an evoca­tive scene by the Riv­er Tigris in 1872, Leila accom­pa­nies Arthur to his exca­va­tion site, shar­ing her beliefs about spir­i­tu­al con­nec­tions with­in the Yazi­di cul­ture. She speaks of the con­cept of “axiretê,” or the next world, empha­siz­ing that every Yazi­di should have a spir­i­tu­al sib­ling to rely on. Leila shares a play­ful thought about her own “heav­en­ly sis­ter” liv­ing upstream, whom she humor­ous­ly sug­gests would trans­form into water after death to meet her again. Arthur, how­ev­er, feels dis­com­fort about the dis­cus­sion of death, par­tic­u­lar­ly after Leila’s unset­tling div­ina­tion. He strug­gles with his emo­tions, wish­ing to com­fort her but restrained by the strict Yazi­di codes.

Arthur reveals to Leila his own loss, hav­ing had a younger broth­er die from con­t­a­m­i­nat­ed water—a tragedy he hasn’t for­giv­en him­self for. This shared sor­row deep­ens their con­nec­tion as Leila lis­tens with com­pas­sion. The nar­ra­tive quick­ly shifts as Arthur receives an urgent sum­mons from the Pasha of Mosul, which he must heed. At the pasha’s res­i­dence, he faces scruti­ny for his asso­ci­a­tion with the Yazidis, labeled as “hea­thens” and “dev­il-wor­ship­pers.” Despite the pasha’s mock­ing demeanor, Arthur defends the Yazi­di peo­ple, indi­cat­ing his desire to learn their lan­guage from the chil­dren in the vil­lage.

The pasha, eager to exert author­i­ty, ques­tions Arthur’s motives for the exca­va­tion and insin­u­ates that he seeks not just a poem but also pow­er and fame. The arrival of the high qadi inten­si­fies the atmos­phere, as the qadi express­es dis­dain for the Yazidis and cold­ly explains that lying to them is per­mis­si­ble. Arthur’s heart races with con­cern for the Yazidis as he sens­es the dan­ger encroach­ing upon them.

Dis­turbed by the pasha’s words, Arthur returns to the vil­lage after being sum­moned, con­tem­plat­ing whether to share his trou­bling expe­ri­ences with the sheikh’s fam­i­ly. Lat­er, while exam­in­ing his new­ly unearthed tablets, he dis­cov­ers a vital piece of the Flood Tablet, ignit­ing hope for his research. As he con­tem­plates his suc­cess deep into the night, his thoughts stray to Leila, whom he real­izes he has feel­ings for, result­ing in an intro­spec­tive mono­logue about love and con­nec­tion. The chap­ter cul­mi­nates in a poignant moment as Leila, in a dream­like state, kiss­es Arthur on the cheek, leav­ing him both elat­ed and appre­hen­sive about their del­i­cate bond.