Chapter 3: Friends and Enemies

Desperate to flee, Rand tries every gate in Fal Dara keep but finds them all barred. An unseen presence stalks him through empty storerooms and yards. He finds Loial, Mat, and Perrin dicing with servants, but deliberately drives them all away with cruel words to keep them safe.

Egwene tracks him down, sees through his act, and refuses to leave. She leads him to the dungeon to hide, but Padan Fain senses Rand and taunts him with a chilling chant, claiming the battle is never over and invoking the name Mordeth.

Shaken, Egwene proposes hiding Rand in the women's apartments—the one place no man would be sought—and he reluctantly agrees.