Farid waits with Mo and Elinor, who are tied up, but Dustfinger does not return. Eventually, he agrees to untie Mo and Elinor. Farid says he will sneak up to the village to try to see what happened to Dustfinger. He asks to go alone, saying that he is used to it from “the old days” in his story (384). Mo vows that he will come to look for him if he doesn’t return. Farid takes Gwin with him, as well as a note from Mo for Meggie, written in a secret code.

Capricorn’s men are very excited about the planned execution. Darius visits Meggie and Fenoglio’s cell on Capricorn’s orders. Darius explains that he was taken from his old life as a teacher and ordered to read people out of Inkheart, including Mortola the Magpie and Resa. He explains that his fear of Basta, Capricorn, and the other men makes him make mistakes with the people he reads out of books, as in the case of Resa’s lost voice.

Darius tells Meggie that Capricorn wants to test her abilities, but that Inkheart is being kept in a safe location until the “festivities”—Dustfinger and Resa’s execution.