The morning after the events at the Equinox Ball and their public declaration, Rune finds a note from Draven with prewritten excuses for their behavior at the ball. Rumors of their fated bond spread through the Forge. Her friends congratulate her, though Morgan reacts with anger. When alone, Morgan accuses her of being with Draven for money and warns her not to trust him. That evening, Rune joins her friends for a study session that turns into drinking games. Morgan suggests the game Candor or Cup, revealing he was part of the Ten Spires Clan, a criminal organization. Drunk and disoriented, Rune overhears Morgan and Kasper discussing a plan, with Morgan saying she was “the key” (179) to something they are planning before she is spotted. Morgan escorts her home, becoming increasingly aggressive when she refuses his advances.

At her Hearth, he grabs her tarot cards and attacks. Rune hears Draven’s voice in her mind through their magical connection and fights back, kicking Morgan in the face. Draven opens the door as she reaches it and confronts Morgan. He magically retrieves Rune’s tarot deck from Morgan’s grasp, returns it to her, and then uses the Death Arcana to terrify him before warning him away. Draven invites Rune to see where he goes each morning and promises Morgan will pay. Inside their Hearth, she sees Draven has several upper-year druid allies over and hears him end their meeting and send them away.

Draven wakes the hungover Rune with a vile-tasting but effective remedy, then makes her coffee using the Magician and World Card. She tells him about Morgan’s connection to the Ten Spires Clan and a possible mortal rebellion. Draven says the clan has links to a new mortal rebellion and insists Rune will have guards, though she resists the idea. Draven reveals that Kasper has challenged him in sparring seven times. He flies Rune to a private training facility near the volcano, where Kenzo, his combat instructor, scolds him for being five hours late. Kenzo and Draven engage in an intense sparring session during which Kenzo knocks out Draven’s tooth; Draven calmly heals himself using the World and Empress Arcana. Afterward, Draven has Rune practice healing his split lip with the Empress Card, guiding her magic when she struggles. Kenzo tells Rune he has never seen Draven let anyone in and that she should be worthy of his faith. Kenzo then trains Rune with a wooden sword, correcting her form and noting she is new to swords but experienced in fighting. He trips her at the knee and tells her to get up and go again.

Professor Vexus arrives for Draven’s next lesson. In a lecture hall, several druids wait, including Wynter. Vexus explains the students are selected for special training with Draven and that their memories will be wiped afterward using his Hierophant Arcana by the king’s order. Draven spars with a Sun Arcana student, studying how the magic is used in combat and briefly having Rune attempt to channel the Sun Arcana herself, then calls Wynter forward and uses Judgment magic to force him to his knees in a display of dominance. He privately tells Rune he did this to make her male friends fear him.

A Devil Arcana casts an elaborate illusion transforming the room into a party. Rune notes flaws in the illusion, and Draven guides her to dispel it, by channeling her power through the World and Devil cards, which she does after dropping her mental shields. The last class is an intelligence briefing from Professor Fenrys, who reports that tensions with the seraphs are at their highest since the war and that rumors about Draven’s broken engagement, the prophecy, and Rune’s status as his fated mate are spreading across Arcadia. On the walk back, Rune thanks Draven, but when he mentions their next public date at Hollow Fest, she realizes the day was more about their deal than genuine connection. They argue about trust and the necessity of their deception. Rune says she thought he genuinely cared. She storms off, and Draven shouts that it was before flying away.

Weeks pass with Rune and Draven maintaining a polite but distant relationship, though he continues her private training and assigns her research on the Arcadian Artifacts through ancient texts. Morgan remains in the Boiler, the Forge’s detention hall; some changelings blame Rune. At a girls-only study session, Rune tells Ember, Amaya, and Cleona what Morgan did, and they are supportive. One day, Rune follows Magda to a secluded building and overhears her reporting to an unseen male that she has found no proof of their fated bond and cannot scent it.

Magda mentions an envoy from Nevaeh is coming to discuss the possibility of reinstating Draven’s betrothal. Rune reports this to Draven, who destroys the spying crystals Magda planted in their rooms and suggests they accelerate their timeline by sharing a bed to mingle their scents. She agrees. That night, Draven uses magic to return her brother’s confiscated figurine and restores her natural curly hair, which the Oath had straightened. They lie together, and Draven reveals he was six years old when King Silas adopted him after his father was executed for joining the mortal uprising; the World Card’s selection saved him. Rune tells him about Kiana, her past love who died. When he asks if it was worth it, she says she would do it a thousand times over to feel that kind of love again. They fall asleep in the same bed as part of their plan to make their relationship appear genuine.

For a week, Rune and Draven sleep pressed together each night to strengthen the illusion of their fated bond. The night before their exams, Draven tells Rune their scent-mingling is not working well enough and proposes they claim each other by exchanging bites, a ritual that permanently alters their scent and is traditionally shared between fated mates. She agrees. Draven bites her neck, sending intense pleasure through her. She bites him back in return, and they are both overwhelmed. Draven abruptly leaves to take a cold shower and does not return.

After their exams, Wynter asks if Rune is going with anyone to Hollow Fest; she says she is going with Draven. In their Hearth, Draven is packing for Alfheim to retrieve dark zenith crystal from a drake’s lair. He reveals the drake guarding the zenith is dead. Rune realizes the wand artifact might be made of zenith and could have returned to its source in the lair. They discuss the wand’s powers, and Draven agrees it is their best lead. Rune finds a book showing the elven king wearing the ring artifact suggesting the legendary Kingmaker ring may still exist. Overjoyed, Draven kisses her for the first time and their kiss escalates until Magda interrupts, delivering their party outfits. Later, they attend Hollow Fest dressed as Azazel and the White Goddess and prepare to publicly convince others of their fated bond.

While dancing, Draven publicly bites the claim mark on Rune’s neck to reinforce the appearance of their fated bond. Rune whispers to Draven to get drinks and find somewhere private. In the kitchen, they are surrounded by her friends. Draven charms the group, but Kasper confronts them about Morgan. Draven reveals what Morgan did and accuses Kasper of seeing Morgan’s aggression toward Rune and abandoning her, forcing him to apologize. A guard pulls Draven away. When he returns, he takes Rune upstairs. He suddenly becomes rough and forceful, but she realizes he smells and tastes wrong—it is an impostor. She knees him, and he transforms into Morgan. Other changelings and druids emerge from hiding. Fallon, a High Priestess Arcana, presses against Rune’s mental shields and threatens her friends if she calls for help.

Morgan reveals the Ascension—a new mortal rebellion formed by descendants of the original uprising and working with the Ten Spires Clan—has infiltrated the party and freed him from the Boiler. The group plans to assassinate Draven using a replica of Rune to lure him, but both a Moon Arcana’s transformation and a Devil Arcana’s illusion fail to create a convincing doppelganger. Rune mocks them, arguing that killing Draven will bring catastrophic retaliation. Morgan slaps her and commands her to go into the next room to lure and bind Draven when he arrives. He taints her tarot cards, linking them to his magic, and declares they need a weapon of vengeance—and tonight it will be Rune.