- Deryn is adrift in the storm, and she knows the flickers of lightning in the distance are no good—because the Huxley breathes hydrogen, which holds it aloft, it can go up in flames like that.
- As Deryn drifts over London, she distracts herself by (conveniently for the backstory) thinking of what London was like before Darwin (yes, that Darwin) discovered how to create fabricated beasts.
- Deryn realizes that she has no idea how to get down in a Huxley, which is supposed to be attached to ground lines all the time.
- She recalls how much she loved ballooning with her Da before his death two years before.
- As they drift toward the English Channel, Deryn and the Huxley both notice a thrumming sound. Then Deryn catches her first glimpse of a massive airbeast: a whaleesque that looks somewhat like a zeppelin—and when Deryn sees Leviathan written along the side of the gondola suspended from the whaleesque, she realizes it's the famous airship.
- Deryn sees many other creatures swarming about the whale and recalls that huge hydrogen breathers like the Leviathan are designed to be entire ecosystems, much like those South American islands where Darwin did much of his work.
- The Leviathan lets down a rope, which Deryn eventually manages to catch.
- A message lizard (why don't we have these?) climbs to her along the rope to tell her they're there to rescue her.
- Deryn sends a reply back with the lizard—coolest walkie-talkies ever—and the Leviathan manages to bring her in.
- The officer who greets Deryn compliments her work with the Huxley and tells her the British Air Service will need all the good men it can get what with the trouble on the Continent over an Austrian duke and duchess.
- He tells her that she'll be staying aboard for a few days since they're on high alert.
- Nothing could make Deryn happier than a little bit longer in the air, so everything's turning up roses for now.