After Nesta orders Cassian to spend the night at the House of Wind and not speak to her unless she addresses him first or a week passes, Cassian waits out the required night and immediately plans to find her. He asks Rhys to winnow him to Windhaven at dawn after Mor reports that she brought Nesta there the previous day. As he goes, Cassian reflects that the mating bond itself does not frighten him; what terrifies him is the possibility that Nesta will reject him because of it.

Cassian intends to end their conflict by getting Nesta to speak a single word so he can apologize and finally say what remains unsaid between them. When he reaches Emerie’s shop, he smells both Nesta and Gwyn at the back door, which tells him Gwyn left the library to comfort Nesta. That loyalty moves him, but it also deepens his shame because his fight with Nesta drove her there.

The moment they arrive, Rhys realizes something is wrong and says the females are not there. Cassian breaks into the shop and finds the back room empty, but the space holds the sudden scent of males who appeared inside. He understands the implication at once: ordinary Illyrians cannot winnow, except during one ancient night when their wild power returns.

Cassian races upstairs and finds Nesta’s room in disarray. The signs of violence are unmistakable: furniture has been overturned, male blood marks the floor, and strong sleeping ointment lingers in the air. Emerie’s and Gwyn’s rooms show the same evidence of struggle, confirming that all three females fought before they were overpowered and taken.

The full meaning crashes into him. Cassian realizes the abduction is both punishment and warning: a retaliation against Nesta, Gwyn, and Emerie for daring to train as warriors, and against him for teaching them in defiance of Illyrian tradition. Rhys, equally horrified, confirms that Devlon has verified the truth—the Blood Rite began at midnight, and Nesta, Gwyn, and Emerie have been thrown into it.