As Vasalie faces Illian, her memory begins to return. She recalls that Illian is the king who imprisoned her two years ago for a murder she didn’t commit. Illian well knew her innocence since she was with him when the supposed murder was committed, yet he did nothing to save her. Illian offers Vasalie a deal: He will grant her a full exoneration and freedom if she becomes his spy at the upcoming Crowns’ Gathering. To do this, she must first earn a spot as an entertainer. Though physically ravaged by her imprisonment and wary of Illian’s lies, Vasalie accepts, negotiating for written permission to leave his kingdom after her mission is complete. Illian agrees but warns her that he will kill her if she betrays him. After the meeting, Vasalie collapses and is examined by a physician. The doctor diagnoses her with severe, possibly permanent, muscle and nerve damage, along with an unpredictable heart condition. After learning that she may never be able to dance again, Vasalie is left feeling that Illian has given her an impossible task, and she despairs.

Three weeks after her release, Vasalie struggles with a slow and painful physical recovery under the care of King Illian’s attendant, Brigitte. Vasalie learns that she must perform for Illian before leaving for the Gathering, which is five weeks away, or she will be sent back to her cell. Seeking answers, she slips away to her old, abandoned ballroom and learns that Illian never appointed a new dancer. The position of the “King’s Jewel”—his favorite artist—has been empty since Vasalie’s imprisonment. In the ballroom, she retrieves a hidden glove belonging to her late stepmother, Emilia, which reminds her of her original mission in coming to Illian’s court. Vasalie had fled to Illian’s court to seek justice after her father tried to force her into an arranged marriage with a stranger at the age of 13, but she forgot her original mission when the king made her his Jewel and immersed her in courtly life. 

After seeing her former students perform one of her dances for the king, Vasalie is overcome and tries to dance herself, only to collapse in pain. Illian and his guards find her. He cruelly demands that she dance on the spot, and when she can’t, he calls her a “broken toy” with no worth. The fact that he doesn’t punish her or revoke their agreement confirms to Vasalie that he needs her for a specific purpose. However, the insult shatters her resolve, and she spends the following days in a numb despair, failing in her training. The day before her mandatory performance, Brigitte tells Vasalie an inspiring story about her own daughter’s resilience and success, starting a life as a baker after she suffered severe, debilitating burns. This story, combined with the fine millen-flour pastry that her daughter created, sparks a sudden idea in Vasalie, and she rushes from her room with renewed purpose.

Vasalie performs her first dance for Illian since her imprisonment. She wears a simple costume and artfully throws millen flour around herself to create a spectacular visual effect that masks the new limitations of her movements. The performance impresses the king. After dismissing his courtiers, Illian gives Vasalie her mission instructions. She will travel to the Isle of Anell under the cover story of being a dancer from his brother Estienne’s court, and her first task is to befriend the Gathering’s Head of Staff, while her last evening at the Gathering will be spent in the company of his court alone. Illian warns Vasalie that any defiance will return her to her cell.

After a three-day journey, Vasalie arrives at the magnificent seaside palace on Anell. Intimidated by the other skilled performers auditioning, her confidence wavers. Copelan, the Master of Revels (the manager of the event’s entertainment), dismisses her without a trial, claiming that the single spot for a solo dancer is already filled. When he tells her to leave unless she can create wings and fly, Vasalie boldly accepts the challenge, claiming that she can do exactly that.

In her audition for Copelan, Vasalie performs a unique dance about a flightless bird, using millen, which she calls “Dust of the Moon” (51), to create the stunning illusion of wings. Though Copelan notes that Vasalie’s movements are stilted from an old injury, he’s impressed enough to accept her as a solo performer for the Gathering, warning that he will have final approval over all her routines. Having secured her position, Vasalie begins her first mission from Illian: befriending the Head of Staff, a friendly man named Laurent Achea. Laurent directs Vasalie to her quarters and informs her of a welcome dinner. Vasalie settles in, having successfully made her first important contact.

As performers arrive for the Crowns’ Gathering, Vasalie attends an orientation dinner, where Copelan lays out the strict rules of participation. Copelan’s manner makes Vasalie suspect that he’s hiding something. On a hunch, Vasalie follows Copelan afterward and discovers him dancing blindfolded, confirming her suspicion that he’s the other soloist. He explains that they will perform together for the six main events and decides to test her. 

Copelan challenges Vasalie’s capacity for trust, which she fails, causing him to explain the need for abandon in a dance partnership. To prove that she’s capable of trust, Vasalie blindfolds herself and initiates an intimate and complex dance lift with Copeland. As Copeland catches her in his arms, the physical contact awakens Vasalie’s senses after years of isolation. Though visibly affected by their sudden mutual attraction, Copelan dismisses Vasalie. Back in her room, she discovers a note from Illian—“Rest well, Vasalie. You look like you need it. I eagerly anticipate your first performance” (70)—implying that he’s already watching her, though his ship isn’t yet at the docks.

Vasalie practices with Copelan for the Welcoming performance, impressing him with her creative ideas. The night of the performance arrives, and rulers from across the northern kingdoms gather in the Dome Hall. When Vasalie spots the king of Brisendale—a kingdom in West Miridran and her homeland—she feels a pang of homesickness. Illian arrives and secretly passes her a note instructing her to gain the attention of his younger brother, King Anton Orvere, and secure an invitation to his private dinner. When the charismatic Anton makes his grand entrance, Vasalie begins her performance, a dance based on a Brisendali folktale. To complete her task, she breaks protocol by pulling Anton from the audience and into the dance. He plays along, and she incorporates him into the finale, leaving him standing in a cloud of golden dust as she disappears from the stage.

After her performance, Vasalie returns to the party, anxious about having impulsively involved Anton in the dance. She’s confronted by a furious Copelan, but their argument is interrupted by King Rurik of Brisendale. Rurik questions Vasalie’s deliberate choice to dance with a foreign king during a performance meant to honor his country, accusing her of acting on someone else’s orders. Anton intervenes, claiming that Vasalie was working for him and cleverly reinterpreting the dance’s symbolism to diffuse the tension. Anton later tells Vasalie that he knows she’s playing a “game” and invites her to his court’s banquet the next evening, which fulfills the first step of her mission for Illian. Later, overwhelmed by physical exhaustion, Vasalie collapses in her room. Copelan finds her and, mistaking her state for drunkenness, puts her to bed while promising a harsh discussion the next day.

Copelan confronts Vasalie in a secluded garden, furious about her behavior at the previous night’s gathering. She admits that he has every right to remove her but explains that taking risks is the only way she has ever succeeded, recounting how she first secured her position with Illian by impulsively taking over a performance after the lead dancer was injured. Copelan reveals that Anton has personally requested her presence at his banquet, so he can’t expel her yet. 

Copelan then confesses that he chose her for the competition because her bold creativity is the “spark” his troupe was missing. Their moment of understanding is interrupted by Rurik’s daughter, Aesir, the Brisendali princess, and an accompanying general. Vasalie is horrified to recognize the man as her estranged father, General Maksim Stova. She begs Copelan to hide her, which he does. After they pass, Vasalie reveals that she once knew the general and that he’s the reason she fled her home. Copelan demands the full story later and warns that any further missteps will result in her dismissal.

Vasalie receives a letter from Illian accompanied by a vial she identifies as bellamira—a lethal northern poison with no taste or smell—along with only a name, Lord Bayard, implying that she must use the poison to murder him. Her shock at her new mission is interrupted by Laurent, who delivers an elegant gown sent by Anton with a note requesting that she wear it for her performance. While helping her dress, Laurent reveals that he grew up in Serai but has lived in East Miridran for some time, having followed his sister there when she became a glass smith in Philam. He shares that he has known the “unpredictable” Anton for years, suggesting that the king’s wild behavior might be a deliberate facade. After Laurent leaves, Vasalie applies heavy makeup, unsettled by her father’s presence at court. Facing an uncertain future and feeling like a stranger to herself, she hides the vial of poison in the folds of her new gown before preparing to perform.

Vasalie arrives at Anton’s wing for what she expects to be a performance but is instead welcomed as a guest to a lavish, informal banquet. She’s escorted by a kind courtier named Gustav. At the banquet, she observes the stark contrast between Illian’s and Anton’s courts: While Illian is commanding and aloof, Anton is casual and friendly with Queen Sadira of Razam and her sons. Illian has always painted Anton as a wicked, debauched usurper, but Vasalie begins to see that Illian’s story has many holes. 

Meanwhile, Anton addresses Gustav as Lord Bayard, revealing him as Vasalie’s target. Vasalie is horrified, especially after she learns that Gustav has a terminally ill daughter. As a show of gratitude for his work, Sadira gifts Gustav a rare, potentially life-saving medicine for his child. Wracked with guilt and compassion, Vasalie decides to spare Gustav, while keeping intact the illusion of her assassination attempt. Instead of poisoning Gustav’s glass as ordered, she pours the poison into her own.

Gustav brings Vasalie to a party where an invention projects moving images of light onto the walls. Anton pulls Vasalie away to a private turret to show her another invention, a powerful telescope. He also reveals that he suspects she’s Illian’s spy and encourages her to get to know his court before acting against him. Vasalie confronts Anton with rumors about his profligate lifestyle and his notorious “Glory Court” where he supposedly coerces hundreds of women to please him, but he deflects her accusations with charm, calling her “little minnow.” Back at the party, Vasalie proceeds with her plan to spare Gustav. She drinks half of her poisoned glass of wine and feigns a stumble; Gustav sets both their glasses aside on a nearby table. She then selects a fresh flute and hands him another for a final toast. After they both drink, Gustav collapses.

During the ensuing chaos, Vasalie recognizes a servant pretending to help her as one of Illian’s attendants and sees him secretly pocket a small box before she passes out. She awakens in a guest room where Laurent explains that both she and Gustav were poisoned but will recover. 

Copelan, assigned to guard Vasalie, confronts her about her recent suspicious behavior. Pressured, Vasalie confesses that the general she was hiding from is her estranged father. Copelan softens, sharing that his first performing partner disappeared nine years ago after a mistake involving a royal, which explains his overprotective nature. He agrees to let Vasalie stay, and at her request, he remains by her side as she recounts happy childhood memories of her stepmother, Emilia. Emilia was 25 when she came into eight-year-old Vasalie’s life. Though initially Vasalie had hated the idea of a stepmother, she and Emilia soon became friends, with Emilia telling her stories and making quilts for her.

Vasalie dreams of Emilia urgently pleading for her to wake up. She awakens to find Illian in her room. He reveals that the poison Vasalie administered to Gustav was intentionally non-lethal, having been cut with a taming root called duskbane, and questions whether she knew this or mistakenly tried to spare Gustav by consuming half his dose. Vasalie hadn’t known about the duskbane and realizes that Illian never intended to kill the man.

She then deduces that Illian has kept Lord Sarden’s murder—which she was framed for, leading to her imprisonment—a secret for two years by claiming that Sarden was traveling on Crown business. Illian confirms this and reveals the extent of his blackmail: He has Sarden’s preserved body and has forged love letters to further incriminate Vasalie if she ever defies him. Heartbroken and enraged, Vasalie confronts Illian over his betrayal, telling him that he ruined her devotion. She hero-worshipped him and could have grown to love him. Illian cryptically responds that there’s a reason for his actions. He then gives Vasalie her next task: Manipulate Laurent into breaking security protocols to bring a tailor named Annais onto the isle. He reveals that Annais is already waiting in his cabin aboard his ship and that Vasalie must fetch her, with Laurent needed to facilitate her entry. She has two days to succeed.