Twenty-three hours after leaving the jarls to vote, Darrow lands on the wandering island of Harmonia with Cassius. They note Europa’s eerie quiet and recall the brutal retaking of the Pandora, where freeing the enslaved crew turned the fight. In Lorn’s abandoned keep, Darrow reflects on mortality and responsibility, shaves his beard in Lorn’s bathroom, and with Cassius visits the grotto where Tactus died, honoring their dead and their teachers.

Darrow and Cassius trade memories and reckon with legacies: Lorn’s influence on Darrow, Alexandar’s on Darrow, and Cassius’s on Lysander. Their banter is cut by Lyria’s incoming shuttle; Cassius teases her with callsigns, settling on “Eaglet.”

Volga arrives, angry that Darrow let her kill Fá, fearing he is making her a puppet queen. Darrow reframes the moment: he argues the Obsidians must break the ouroboros of war. He praises Sefi’s vision of education and identity beyond battle, and claims Volga—clean of the Alltribe’s treason and versed in Republic life—can be the bridge to a new future.

Volga resists being used and fears abandonment. Darrow lays out the stark options: without allies, the Volk cannot hold the Rim against guerrillas or the Shadow Armada, and Atalantia will eventually annihilate them. He promises a Republic amnesty offer through Sevro, a blank slate with him, and a choice to redeem themselves by returning to fight for Mars, where many Volk families remain. He cites braves’ competing plans (Fjod to Ganymede, Uther to the Garter, Skarde to Mars) but insists the decision must come by vote, not imposition.

They weigh the risks against Atalantia and the need to make amends with the Rim. Darrow pledges support alongside Lyria and Sevro, invokes Ragnar’s credo about good friends jumping together, and urges Volga to consult Diomedes and Athena before coronation. Lyria then relays that the vote is tallied. Volga, overwhelmed yet resolved, says she wants Darrow’s friendship—but asks him not to attend her coronation to ensure her independence and the Volk’s faith in their choice.