Finn, driven by his instinct to protect Maia, abandons his journey and heads back down the river to the Carters’ residence. When he arrives, he finds the bungalow burnt to the ground, and he can’t find Maia in the huts behind it. Fearing the worst, he walks back down the river path toward his boat and finds Maia unconscious but alive under a patch of vines and bleeding from a deep gash in her leg. He instinctively rescues her, bandages her with an herbal poultice, and feeds her natural medicine. She sleeps deeply, and when she wakes, she finds herself travelling with Finn on the Arabella. Feeling restored, she explains that she escaped from the fire through her window, where she cut her leg on the smashed glass.

Happily reunited, Finn and Maia travel together toward the last known location of the Xanti tribe, using maps that Finn inherited from his father. Finn teaches Maia how to survive in the wilderness, and they gather herbal medicines to sell to villages along the way. Naively, Maia hopes that they will keep sailing together forever.