Chapter Twenty-Seven

Nesta awkwardly faces Cassian the morning after their intimate encounter in the dining room, but uses Gwyn as a buffer. She learns that research on the Dread Trove has hit a dead end, forcing her to consider using scrying—a method that deeply unsettles her. Cassian delivers spices and tea to Emerie as a gift from Nesta, and surprisingly, Emerie appears at training that morning.

Nesta meets Gwyn on the steps to the training pit and they discuss their failed search for information about the Dread Trove. Despite consulting old texts and breaking through glamours, they've uncovered nothing about when, where, or by whom the objects were lost. Gwyn notes it may be an impossible task, and Nesta acknowledges there is another way to find them—involving bones and stones—but refuses to elaborate, her body locking up at the mere thought. After training with Gwyn, Nesta speaks privately with Cassian and asks him to visit Windhaving. She requests a favor: to deliver spices, tea, and salt to Emerie's shop in Velaris with a message from Nesta inviting her to join training, offering transportation and flexible attendance. Cassian reflects on how Nesta's kindness toward Gwyn and Emerie reveals a different side of her—someone simply being herself rather than playing a role. He also grapples with uncertainty about what Nesta's intimate act meant, questioning whether it stemmed from desire, comfort, or pity. When Nesta arrives at training, she finds Emerie present at the water station, having accepted the invitation.