Nesta enters a small shop in Windhaven looking for something warmer than her fighting leathers. The shopkeeper, Emerie, quickly guesses that Nesta has been brought to the camp against her will and speaks with blunt sympathy instead of judgment. When Nesta notices scars on Emerie’s wings, Emerie reveals that her father had them clipped because he believed females should be confined. Emerie offers to ask about warmer leathers even after learning Nesta has been cut off from money, and when she finally reveals that she knows Nesta’s identity, Emerie’s reaction is not fear but approval: she is glad Nesta killed the King of Hybern.

Later, after Cassian and Morrigan return Nesta to the House of Wind from Windhaven, Cassian immediately flies off carrying Mor, and the sight irritates Nesta more than she wants to admit. The House leaves food for her, but Nesta refuses it and goes down to the library instead. Clotho assigns her books to shelve on Level Five, and when Nesta nervously asks whether Bryaxis ever harmed the priestesses, Clotho explains in writing that Bryaxis never hurt them and may even have pitied them because they had already lived through their worst nightmares.

While resting after an hour of work, Nesta argues with the House again when it tries to feed her. A young priestess interrupts: Gwyneth Berdara, called Gwyn, an acolyte working under Clotho’s scholar, Merrill. Gwyn is direct, teasing, and unafraid of Nesta’s sharpness. Their exchange turns combative, then unexpectedly playful, as Gwyn insists on being treated like a person rather than pitied, and Nesta finds herself engaging instead of driving her off completely.

At the end of the day, Nesta complains to Clotho about Gwyn ordering her around, but Clotho defends Gwyn and reminds Nesta that Gwyn also has a history of bravery and survival. That rebuke leaves Nesta feeling reluctant regret. Back in the House’s private library, hungry and exhausted, Nesta finally asks the House for the soup again, this time adding "please." The House provides it, along with bread and light, and Nesta thanks it, marking a small but meaningful softening in her isolation.