Chapter 60

Kaan plays a familiar lullaby from the protagonist's childhood, triggering an emotional breakdown where she finally releases tears she has held back since retrieving Haedeon from Netheryn. Kaan comforts her by holding her close, his care reminiscent of her father's tenderness toward her mother.

During sleep, Kaan plays a song that the protagonist's parents, Mah and Pah, used to sing to her when she was ill. Hearing the melody causes her to join in singing, but her voice breaks and she begins crying—the first tears she has shed since bringing Haedeon back from Netheryn. Her tears flow heavily, not gently, as she grieves for her parents, for Haedeon and Allume, for Slátra, and for the losses she has endured and the voice she is forbidden to use. When Kaan realizes she is crying, he sets down his instrument, lifts her into his arms, and holds her tightly against his chest, absorbing her sobs with his own body. The gesture reminds her of how her father, Pah, once comforted her mother, Mah, when she was crying in the snow, carrying her back inside to warmth and light. This memory intensifies her grief further.