Chapter Twenty-Nine

Nesta attempts scrying to locate the Dread Trove after being challenged by her own cowardice, but the effort triggers a traumatic nightmare that manifests her true power—silver fire connected to death itself. Cassian and Azriel respond to her screams, and Rhys uses his daemati abilities to pull her from the nightmare, discovering the full extent of her trauma and the terrifying nature of her innate power.

Nesta climbs the House's stairs at night, tormented by nightmares of her father's death and her failures during the war. The House offers her scrying tools—bones and stones—but she refuses, fearing another encounter with the Cauldron. Later, at the river house, Amren pressures the group to have Nesta attempt scrying within a week, threatening to use Elain as leverage if she refuses. Over three days, Nesta trains with Gwyn and Emerie; when Merrill confronts Nesta about swapping books, Nesta stands up to her, revealing her silver-glowing power and earning Merrill's enmity but respect from the other priestesses. Three new priestesses—Roslin, Deirdre, and Ananke—join training, having been inspired by Nesta's courage. Their presence motivates Nesta to attempt scrying herself; she invites Cassian to witness. During the scrying, when Nesta focuses on finding the Mask of the Dread Trove, her mind fractures under memories of the Cauldron. She experiences a traumatic vision of the Cauldron becoming aware of her and targeting her with its power, forcing her to abandon the attempt. That night, Nesta's nightmare spirals: she dreams the Cauldron's darkness pursues her through the House and pins her to her bed. Her terror manifests as silver fire—icy, all-consuming flame that burns without heat—causing her to scream. Cassian, Azriel, and Rhys all awaken and rush to her room. Rhys enters her mind as a daemati to calm her, and in doing so witnesses her entire trauma from the Cauldron's transformation. After waking her, Rhys reveals to Cassian and Azriel that Nesta's true power is death itself, and her psychological trauma from the Cauldron is far deeper than they understood.