In the surgeon’s cabin, Nina tries to save Inej despite being trained as a Heartrender, not a Healer. Nina closes Inej’s wound from the inside out because simply sealing the skin would leave Inej bleeding internally, but Inej has lost a dangerous amount of blood and Nina cannot safely replace it. While tending Inej, Nina notices the scar where Inej’s Menagerie tattoo was removed and observes that Inej has never taken the Dregs’ crow-and-cup tattoo, despite Kaz’s clear trust in her.

Jesper arrives and finds Nina speaking aloud to Zoya Nazyalensky, Nina’s former superior in the Grisha Second Army. Nina explains that Grisha missions searched for hidden Grisha by following rumors of miracles and local legends, while Jesper argues that people who do not want to be found should be left alone. Jesper’s restless banter stops when he finally looks at Inej and admits she cannot die, revealing his fear and affection before leaving to shackle Matthias.

Alone again, Nina remembers her first mission with Zoya on the Wandering Isle. Nina’s skill with languages made her useful in locating hidden Grisha, but Zoya warned that Nina was too loud, memorable, and reckless. After angrily walking away from camp, Nina stumbled into a disguised drüskelle group. Matthias tested her by lunging at her; when Nina instinctively raised her hands to use her power, Matthias identified her as Grisha, bound her, and took her to a ship full of captive Grisha.

In the ship’s hold, Nina and other prisoners were starved, bound, mocked, and terrified of being taken to the Ice Court. Jarl Brum, the feared drüskelle commander, addressed the prisoners and the young drüskelle, declaring that the captives would be tried in Fjerda and that the drüskelle existed to eradicate Grisha. After Brum left, Matthias showed both contempt and a trace of restraint: he stopped another drüskelle from touching Nina, insulted her as less than a dog, but later brought water when she pleaded. Nina remembers that the cup he brought later helped save her life in a storm.

Nina wakes from dozing and finds Matthias in the passage, freshly shaved and still shackled. Their conversation quickly turns hostile. Nina needles him in Fjerdan, and when Matthias threatens her, Nina briefly uses her power to speed his heart before stopping, ashamed. Matthias asks whether Inej will live, then confronts Nina about working at the White Rose and about why Nina stayed in Kerch. Nina says she could not leave him in Hellgate and insists accusing him of slavery was a mistake she has spent the past year trying to fix.

Matthias rejects Nina’s explanation and accuses her of deceit by nature. Nina sees shame when Matthias notices that the bruises he left on her neck are gone, and she wonders whether the decent boy she once knew still exists. Before leaving, Matthias asks whether Nina thought of him in Hellgate and admits he dreamed of her constantly: as monster, comfort, and beloved memory. When Nina asks what Matthias did to her in those dreams, Matthias answers, “Everything,” leaving their bond charged with anger, longing, and unresolved betrayal.