Kaiulani sneaks free of the Korallion to look for her guardian in the cave where she’d last heard him sing; within its shadowed tunnels she and Benja cannot see one another, but this does not stop them from finding one another with voice and touch… and a kiss.
On another secret excursion to rendezvous with her mysterious protector, Kaiulani alarms him with her uncertainty about the trustworthiness of her cousin — and as she inflames him with the possibility of running away with him, finally wins from Benja his name.
Kaiulani and her guardsmen chance across a conflict between an Atlantean Hound and an Empyrean thief–and when the Empyrean makes the mistake of seizing Kai as a hostage, rousing both the Hound and Kai’s guards, she learns that Benja cannot save her from everything…
Determined to flee the Korallion once and for all to be with Benja, Kaiulani seeks out Naiadre to ask her advice on whether Sarojin will explode in fury–and shocks the First Acolyte when she reveals that she has never touched her protector’s mind.
Kaiulani decides at last to run away from the Korallion to be united with Benja — and at last is able to not only see him for the first time, but learn from him why he has hidden from her for so long.