In the king’s hall, Yute announces Livira as a librarian, freezing the room. King Oanold denounces Livira as a “duster,” but Yute stands on the library’s independence. The king orders them gone and summons the head librarian to discuss Livira and Yute’s futures. Outside, Lord Algar warns Yute of consequences, while Serra Leetar arrives, flustered and watchful.

Escorted by Malar, they take a dark route where Malar senses an ambush. The assassin Janacar drops from a roof, boasting of her craft. In a blur, Malar kills her but is cut himself. He urges haste, and Livira helps him to Yute’s house, where Salamonda arms herself and sends Yute for a doctor.

After treatment, Yute tells a groggy Livira that Malar should recover. Challenged on why he risked everything to elevate her, Yute admits he exhausted all subtler means and chose a public challenge to the king’s prejudice; if Oanold cannot see Dust-born as fully human, negotiations with sabbers are impossible.

Yute then reveals a deeper concern: the library’s recurring “fire-limit,” where societies gain the means to destroy themselves faster than they can contain the damage. The Dust is the residue of prior burns; the library preserves memory but accelerates the climb to that limit. His plan is to slow progress and recruit allies—like Livira—to change the cycle and enable talks with sabbers.