Chaol passes a sleepless night in the khagan’s palace, unsettled by the heat, the court’s uncertain loyalties, Rifthold’s fall, and the coming meeting with a healer. He thinks back to dinner, where Arghun pressed him about Adarlan’s slavery and massacres, Sartaq deflected the questioning, and Chaol quietly watched the court for signs of Valg corruption at Kashin’s request.

Nesryn is unusually strained after the previous night’s silence and her own worries about family in Rifthold. As they wait for the healer in Chaol’s appointed sickroom, Nesryn insists that every day matters, while Chaol urges Nesryn to seek news of her kin. Their strained relationship remains unresolved, and the healer’s lateness increases the tension.

The healer arrives and immediately fixes on Chaol with surprise, anger, and wary recognition. Chaol identifies Yrene’s Fenharrow accent, and Yrene’s scar and hostility suggest a past shaped by Adarlan’s violence. Yrene begins a formal assessment, but Chaol challenges Yrene’s reluctance, and Yrene answers with clipped professionalism rather than warmth.

Princess Hasar interrupts and reveals the healer’s name: Yrene Towers. Hasar’s teasing confirms Yrene’s status as an exceptionally skilled healer who does not defer easily to royalty, while Hasar’s parting jab about Chaol serving his master again deepens the hostility in the room. After Hasar leaves, Yrene conducts a blunt examination, asking about Chaol’s bodily functions and testing where sensation begins and ends.

Yrene examines Chaol’s back and, through her healing gift, perceives the terrible magical force that struck and shredded his spine. Yrene confirms that the injury is serious and says she must think and consult Hafiza before deciding what can be done. Yrene leaves without promising to return.

After Yrene departs, Nesryn finds the paper Yrene used during the meeting. Instead of notes, it bears four names, especially the repeatedly underlined name Josefin. Chaol lies that the names may be other healers, but Chaol privately understands that Yrene was reminding herself of people from her past and concludes that, because of what Adarlan did in Fenharrow, Yrene Towers will not be returning.