Cassian reluctantly goes to Nesta Archeron’s run-down apartment in Velaris on Feyre’s orders. He finds Nesta hungover, thin, hostile, and wearing only a stranger’s shirt after a night of drinking and sex. Although Cassian needles her, he is also alarmed by how badly she looks. He insists that Feyre wants her at the new riverfront house and makes clear that he has been told to escort her there personally.

After Cassian leaves her to get ready, the narration shifts to Nesta. She sends the unnamed male from her apartment away and reflects on why she lives this way: she uses sex, music, cards, and alcohol to blunt the panic, guilt, and dark power left in her after the Cauldron transformed her. Her thoughts reveal lingering trauma from being Made, terror of losing control of the power inside her, grief over her father’s death, and self-blame for failing to save him and for the suffering tied to the war with Hybern. She rejects the jobs Rhysand once offered because she sees them as pity and because she believes the worst judgments about her are true.

Cassian returns with tea and enters her apartment, where he comments on the mess and on the obvious evidence of her recent lovers. Nesta dresses and follows him out, uneasy because she knows real political dangers still exist after the war, including hostile human queens and unrest across the lands. Even so, she expects only a lecture about her spending and behavior.

At Feyre and Rhysand’s lavish new estate, Nesta is reminded of how separate she feels from her sisters’ new life and from the family history displayed in the house. In a study, she finds Feyre, Rhysand, and Amren waiting with Cassian. Amren openly condemns Nesta’s drinking, promiscuity, and use of their money, and Rhysand’s temper quickly collides with Nesta’s defiance. Feyre stops the confrontation and admits she should not have let Nesta spiral for so long.

Feyre then states plainly that Nesta’s current life cannot continue. Nesta resists, claiming her life is no one else’s concern, but Feyre insists that change is happening now because she will no longer watch Nesta destroy herself. When Nesta demands to know what they intend to do with her, Feyre looks to Cassian, who delivers the decision: Nesta is coming with him to train.