After examining Chaol, Yrene returns to the Torre unsettled by her own reaction. Chaol’s youth, hope, accent, and connection to Adarlan had made her angry enough to behave rudely, and she is ashamed of having written the names of Towers women, especially her mother’s, instead of keeping proper notes.

Yrene interrupts Hafiza while the Healer on High comforts a homesick acolyte, then waits outside Hafiza’s office. The delay prompts Yrene to reflect on her own lonely first days at the Torre, Cook’s kindness to her, and the life she has built there, which she knows will be painful to leave when she eventually returns home.

When Yrene finally speaks with Hafiza, she admits Chaol will likely walk again because his injury resembles one she healed the previous winter, though the work will be difficult. Hafiza presses Yrene on whether the challenge lies in the healing or in Yrene’s hatred of Adarlan, and Yrene concedes that she does not know as much about Chaol, Nesryn, or their loyalties as she assumed.

Yrene also tells Hafiza that the mark on Chaol’s spine feels unlike any magical wound she has encountered: rotten, empty, and bitterly cold. Hafiza offers help if needed, reminding Yrene that a good healer asks for assistance. Yrene decides to return to Chaol the next day after researching spinal injuries and paralysis in the library.

Meanwhile, Yrene does not come back to the palace that day. Nesryn waits with Chaol until restlessness and worry over her family drive her to leave, while Chaol encourages her to go. Their brief closeness falters when Nesryn raises the question of whether their relationship has been sexually completed, and Chaol withdraws, leaving the unresolved tension between them intact.

On the way to the city, Nesryn encounters Prince Sartaq, who offers to escort her to the palace gates. Speaking in their shared language, Sartaq tells Nesryn that Yrene is known as the Golden Lady and has healed similar injuries before, giving Nesryn renewed hope for Chaol. Sartaq also recounts how he became a ruk rider and raised Kadara, then ensures Nesryn can reenter the palace before inviting her to ride with him someday, an offer Nesryn recognizes may provide privacy away from listening ears.