Meryn discovers Saela's bed empty and the bedroom window open, with a scrap of white cloth from Saela's nightgown snagged on the window frame. She frantically searches the house—her mother's room, the bathroom, the kitchen—but finds Saela's coat and boots still by the front door, confirming Saela did not leave voluntarily. Overwhelmed with panic, Meryn runs after Lee, who has just left, and catches him on the street. Lee immediately takes charge, directing them back to Meryn's neighborhood to begin a search.

Meryn pounds on Igor's door, and he, his wife Prina, and one of Saela's former teachers come out to help. Lee organizes the search: he and Meryn will cover the western blocks while Igor and the teacher check north. As snow falls harder, Meryn and Lee run through deserted streets and alleys shouting Saela's name, finding no trace. After about an hour they split up to cover more ground. Meryn searches alone through the night, refusing to accept that the missing children are never found. By dawn, exhausted and defeated, she returns home to find Lee and Igor already there—neither has found any sign of Saela.

Meryn retreats to Saela's bed and falls into a near-catatonic state of grief and guilt, refusing food and refusing to speak. Neighborhood women visit in shifts, bringing bread and food that goes untouched. Her mother, momentarily lucid from the shock, compares Meryn's state to her father's silence after returning from the war front. Meryn's fingers twitch toward the dagger she has used for self-harm in the past, but she lacks even the energy for that. Igor visits and harshly tells her to get up, but she doesn't move.

Later, Lee silently climbs into bed with Meryn, holding her. His warmth breaks through her numbness and she sobs for the first time since Saela's disappearance. She falls asleep and wakes to find Lee gone, but she is clutching Saela's pillow with a single strand of Saela's hair shimmering in the sunlight. Something resolves inside Meryn—she promised to protect Saela, and she intends to keep that promise.

Meryn goes to the army recruitment center in the Eastern Quarter and volunteers for the King's Royal Forces, despite having a caretaker exception that exempts her from mandatory service. She believes the Nabbers are taking children across the borders to the Siphons, and joining the army is her only way to reach the front and find Saela. When the recruiter suggests waiting six months for the next training cycle, Meryn insists on joining a boot camp starting the very next day. The recruiter stamps her papers, and Meryn is officially enlisted as Recruit Cooper.