After her first sword lesson, Nesta cannot shake the fierce energy it awakened in her. While working in the library, she keeps replaying her fear during the kelpie attack and compares it to other moments when she felt powerless, including the Cauldron and Tomas. Driven by a vow of "never again," Nesta leaves at six and forces herself down the House of Wind stairs to the six-thousandth step before climbing back up, treating the ordeal as a declaration that she will not remain meek or defenseless.

The next day, autumn rain soaks the training ring, but the priestesses arrive anyway, embracing the hardship instead of avoiding it. Cassian notices Nesta at the center of the group, burning with focus, and struggles with how much he desires her after their recent intimacy, which is why he had kept his distance the night before. He also sees signs of growing commitment from the women: three new priestesses have joined, Roslin has removed her hood and revealed her face, and Gwyn is wearing Illyrian leathers. Realizing the group has outgrown one instructor, Cassian decides they need another tutor.

By the following morning, Azriel has joined the lessons before leaving to monitor Briallyn. Although the females are wary at first, Azriel's quiet, distant manner helps them relax. Cassian continues working directly with Nesta, Emerie, and Gwyn in the rain, shifting briefly from swords to practical self-defense. While teaching a neck pressure-point strike that can incapacitate an attacker, Cassian places Nesta's hand on his throat, and their flirtation resurfaces when Nesta teasingly seems tempted to use it on him. At the same time, Cassian notices Gwyn repeatedly watching Azriel and realizes too late that he should have asked whether she was comfortable training with the male who found her after Sangravah.

Later, still chilled after practice, Nesta and Gwyn retreat to a quiet corner of the library to try the Valkyries' mind-stilling exercise from Gwyn's copied text. Gwyn leads Nesta through posture, controlled breathing, noticing sounds, scanning the body, and acknowledging emotions without dwelling on them. Nesta finds the process difficult, especially when thoughts of Elain, Feyre, and Amren surface along with old resentments and insecurities, but she keeps returning to the breath as Gwyn instructs. When Gwyn finally tells her to stop counting and let her mind drift, Nesta discovers that it does not plunge into darkness. Instead, it becomes quiet and still, and when she opens her eyes, she feels for the first time completely settled within herself.