Emily wakes to snow and reflects on the previous day: she and Wendell reached a high lake and found only slight evidence of the nykur, then Emily returned late from another survey to discover that Wendell had transformed their bleak cottage with borrowed furnishings, rugs, lamps, and curtains. Though Emily mocks his domestic efforts, she cannot deny that he has made the place warmer and safer.

The morning brings a sharper upheaval. Emily senses that something is wrong, discovers that the students' room is empty, and learns from Finn that rumors say they have taken Bjorn Gudmunson's boat to Loab6r, likely intending to catch a merchant ship to London. While Emily worries about the students and the loss of research help, Wendell becomes visibly unsettled by the practical realities of being left without attendants, wood, and household support.

Because there is no water and almost no firewood left, Emily tries to manage the cottage herself. She fails to break the frozen stream, melts snow instead, and then attempts to chop wood while Wendell hovers uselessly and complains. When Emily goads him into helping, a misdirected swing of the axe slices deeply into his arm. The wound is far worse than she first realizes, and Wendell continues bleeding heavily even after she bandages him and relights the fire.

Panicked, Emily runs for help. Krystjan is absent, so she reaches the tavern, where Aud at once takes charge and brings Ulfar, Thora, and Lilja back to the cottage. Aud calmly cleans and stitches Wendell's wound, Thora judges that he has lost much blood but should live, and the others restore order by cooking, chopping wood, and repairing the cottage. Even so, Wendell remains weak and strangely insubstantial.

Remembering old tales of the Folk needing contact with the mortal world, Emily fetches leaves from a red willow that also grows in Ireland and brews them into a tea for Wendell. Aud sees enough to understand that Wendell is not human, but instead of recoiling, she helps Emily give him the tea and is amused that Wendell does not know Emily knows his secret. The remedy revives him; when Wendell wakes and makes a joke about being poisoned, Emily finally breaks down in tears from shock and fear.

Afterward, Wendell quickly recovers and rejoins the others, laughing in the kitchen as Aud watches him with new knowledge. Before leaving, Aud refuses payment and warns Emily to be careful, her words carrying several meanings now that she knows what Wendell is. Unable to face the emotional confusion of the day, Emily abruptly decides to go to Poe's spring and admits in her journal that Wendell's presence is making it increasingly hard to keep her work and feelings neatly separated.