Chapter Six

Nesta trains with Cassian in the mountains but grows tense when Morrigan arrives and criticizes her, then retreats to the House of Wind. Cassian assigns her work in the subterranean library, where she shelves books for five hours under the oversight of the priestess Clotho, a traumatized female with crippled hands who communicates only through writing. That evening, Nesta dines alone and conflicts with the enchanted House over her demands for wine.

Nesta watches Cassian train, acutely aware of his movements and presence despite her attempts at indifference. Morrigan arrives unexpectedly and confronts Nesta about her worthiness of Cassian's patience, referencing her own brutal past in the Court of Nightmares. The tension escalates until Cassian returns from his exercise, and Morrigan suggests they leave. Cassian does not speak to Nesta upon their return to the House of Wind. A note slipped under her door summons her to the library at one o'clock. Nesta goes not out of obedience but to escape the silence of her room. In the subterranean library, she meets Clotho, the high priestess, whose hands are grotesquely damaged and whose tongue was cut out. The sight triggers Nesta's memory of a traumatic day at Hybern involving forced submersion in water and male assault, a memory she violently suppresses. Clotho assigns Nesta to shelve books on Level Three for five hours, a task that quiets Nesta's churning mind. Clotho writes a note claiming Feyre speaks highly of Nesta, which Nesta dismisses as dishonesty. That evening, Nesta finds no one at dinner. The magical House refuses to provide her wine, filling her glass with water instead. Frustrated by what she perceives as punishment, Nesta abandons her meal and declares her intention to procure wine elsewhere.