Chapter 37

Kaan inspects the underground bunker he has been shaping for his people to shelter during the coming moonfalls, while wrestling with exhaustion and haunting memories of Elluin. Siharna arrives heavily pregnant to share a meal with him, reminding him of his responsibilities and the weight of leadership, before he learns that Raeve has tamed a Moonplume and is scouting beyond the perimeter with no contact.

Deep in the underground bunker, Kaan presses himself to continue work despite physical exhaustion and emotional turmoil. He has been carving out dwellings along an underground river for nearly a hundred people—mostly from his sun-dependent kingdom—and establishing the infrastructure needed to survive the moonfalls. While arranging torches and fighting off dizziness, Siharna arrives heavily pregnant, having climbed down a thousand steps to bring him food and check on his wellbeing. She scolds him for overworking himself, and they share a meal during which Kaan discusses preparations: similar bunkers are being shaped across The Burn, supplies are stockpiled, and he has identified bloodstone to help prevent sun-starvation sickness. However, Kaan is deeply troubled, unable to sleep properly because images of Raeve in a mirror—telling him that Elluin still loved him—plague his mind. The weight of his past, including the day he beheaded his father while gripped by rage, haunts him. Siharna expresses sadness that her family's ancestral village may be destroyed, and offers comfort about his worthiness as a king, though Kaan knows his darkness runs deep. The chapter closes with Siharna revealing that Raeve has tamed a Moonplume and is scouting near the perimeter without making contact, prompting Kaan to insist she will return—a claim he himself doubts.