Chapter Twenty-Three

Cassian and Azriel spar in the training ring while Nesta watches, with lingering tension from Cassian and Nesta's intimate encounter the night before. Later, Nesta approaches Gwyn in the library about the Dread Trove and attempts to encourage her to join combat training, then descends the library stairs contemplating her next move.

The chapter opens with Cassian's intense preoccupation with his intimate encounter with Nesta from the previous night. When Nesta appears at the training ring, she shows no outward sign of what transpired, treating it as a game of mutual pretense. Azriel arrives to train, and Cassian notices his brother has detected something between them. Cassian and Azriel spar at full speed while Nesta observes, demonstrating hand-to-hand combat techniques. During the fight, Azriel uses deception to distract Cassian by looking toward Nesta, mirroring a moment from the war against Hybern when Nesta screamed Cassian's name and he abandoned his soldiers to reach her—a moment that had shifted something fundamental in him that has since "shredded apart and turned cold." After the training session, Nesta descends to the library and finds Gwyn. She tells the priestess about the Dread Trove, explaining it is an ancient artifact hidden by glamour, and requests her help searching while swearing her to secrecy—directly disobeying Rhys's orders. Gwyn agrees to assist after finishing her current work. Nesta then encourages Gwyn to join combat training, but Gwyn refuses, citing her identity as a priestess rather than a warrior. When Nesta probes whether Cassian's presence is the obstacle, Gwyn's reaction reveals shame and fear. As Nesta leaves the library at sundown, she notices no new names have been added to the training sign-up sheet. She then descends the library's spiral staircase slowly, using each step as a meditation to process the details of her conversation with Gwyn, and by step two thousand, she recognizes what she must do next.