At the Boiler, Rune and Draven observe Kasper strapped in a cell. Draven cannot read his mind without causing permanent damage, given his mental shields, and asks Rune for a way to uncover what he knows. She enters the cell, pretending to be an Ascension member there to rescue him. Kasper denies involvement but admits he told Morgan it was a stupid idea. To maintain her cover, Rune tells Kasper that Draven was just a mark, aware that Draven is watching. She pressures Kasper by threatening to leave him for execution, and he confesses he is at the Forge to find his immortal biological father, who had an affair with his mother during the war. Draven enters and confirms Kasper is uninvolved. He uses a combination of the Hierophant and Emperor cards to erase Kasper’s memory, release him, command him to believe he left the party early, sending him home with altered memories of the night.

Alone, Draven confronts Rune, saying she used his feelings to make a fool of him. She tearfully insists her desire was real. Draven reveals he investigated her past and demands the real reason she sought the Selection this year. Rune recounts her full backstory: After becoming a thief, she was caught by the Lord of Westfall, Thane Blackwell, and forced to work as one of his spies. She describes the deadly Hunting Grounds trial to become his Wraith, where her best friend Kiana took her own life during the final test so Rune would not have to kill her. As the Wraith, Thane grew abusive and obsessed. When he tried to control her by presenting Kiana’s younger sister as a “pet,” Rune attacked him, burned his manor, and returned for the Selection. Draven reaffirms their partnership, offers her family sanctuary in the Immortal Realms when he becomes king, and admits she might be the only person he does not hate.

The morning after the interrogation, Magda wakes Rune and warns her about the danger she faces. Draven confirms Rune’s friends are safe, their memories erased, and more suspects were arrested. He reveals intelligence suggests Rune’s mother was transferred to Alfheim and that her brother may living among elven nobility from his Selection year. Draven helps Rune prepare, then introduces her to his cohort: Malik, who specializes in illusions; Zara, a Hermit Arcana capable of invisibility; Fable, who controls time; and Scorpius, a Moon Arcana who can shapeshift into Draven. Draven explains that Scorpius, though untrustworthy, is necessary as his body double. He briefs them on the elves’ powers of emotional manipulation and declares Rune his top priority, calling her his fated mate.

As they prepare to depart on wyverns, a delegation of seraphs arrives, led by Rune’s father, who is now an advisor to King Altair. He speaks privately with Rune, expressing relief that she is safe and happy. He confirms her brother, Remus, is safe but is forbidden from saying more. After a brief conversation with Draven, the seraphs depart. Draven opens a portal, and the group flies through it on their wyverns, then continues on to Alfheim. A magical platform lowers them into the subterranean kingdom, and they navigate narrow tunnels to reach the capital.

In the throne room, they meet King Eldarion, whose powerful aura of compulsion affects everyone. He reveals King Altair has warned him about Rune, calling her the Forsaken One. Draven defends her and their relationship. Eldarion insults Draven’s changeling status and threatens them, but the elven queen arrives, apologizes for her husband, and offers to show them to their rooms before a feast later that evening.

In their luxurious guest apartment, Fable freezes time to allow private discussion. Draven assigns tasks: Malik and Fable will search for information on Rune’s family, while Zara and Scorpius seek blackmail material on the royal family. Through their mind-link, Draven tells Rune she is his priority over the artifacts. After the others leave, Rune searches the apartment, finding and blocking multiple spy holes and discovering a hidden surveillance space near the kitchen.

Rune and Draven share an intense moment in the narrow hidden space, their bodies pressed together. In the bedroom upstairs, tension from Rune’s earlier betrayal resurfaces. Draven asks if she truly wanted him, and she confirms her desire was real. He declares that she belongs with him, and they kiss passionately. Their conversation turns intimate, and they begin a sexual encounter that reflects both lingering distrust and growing attraction. Just as their moment continues, Scorpius knocks at the door, informing them they are late for the feast with King Eldarion.

At the feast, Draven tells Rune his team has news for after dinner. King Eldarion makes snide remarks about their tardiness, and he and Draven exchange veiled insults. Through their mind-link, Draven explains he is testing whether Eldarion might ally with King Altair. Rune is horrified to see human servants wearing golden manacles and showing signs of abuse. Draven changes tactics, flattering Eldarion about his hunting prowess and steering the conversation toward the mortals working in his realm.

Eldarion boasts about acquiring them from Destarion and mentions a lava-blessed woman with a beautiful singing voice whom he gifted to an eastern lord. Rune suspects he may be describing her mother and struggles to control her emotions. Draven warns her to mask her reaction, and she uses mental techniques to numb her feelings. To distract Eldarion, Draven asks about Prince Ronan and the Kingbreaker Trials, deadly competitions where many changeling children died. Eldarion reveals the winner received a beautiful ring he now wears. Draven and Rune consider the possibility that the ring could be connected to Seithr, the Kingmaker artifact. Draven requests a record of trial participants, and Eldarion agrees. The king then reveals their meal includes meat from a rare winged unicorn, further revolting Rune.

At the subsequent ball, Rune is disgusted by the sight of mortals on leashes and tells Draven she needs to leave. He summons his friends, and Fable freezes time in the ballroom. Malik reports that the enslaved singer is in Illithial, and Rune suspects it is her mother. Malik explains that a binding spell likely ties her to the realm, meaning the elven king would have to release it. Fable provides a list of Kingbreaker Trial participants, but Rune does not see her brother’s name. Zara gives them a map to the zenith location. Draven assigns Scorpius to impersonate him at the party while Malik creates illusions to cover their absences.

Draven and Rune sneak to a balcony, where he creates a portal just outside the castle’s magical wards. He carries her and jumps from the balcony, flying them through the portal to an estate in Illithial. Draven instructs Rune on using the Hermit card to become invisible, and they both turn invisible to infiltrate the house. They are drawn to a courtyard party by a beautiful singing voice. Rune recognizes it as her mother’s and sees her on stage, now an elven changeling but still wearing golden cuffs.

After the performance, Rune follows her mother, ignoring Draven’s attempts to stop her. In a bathroom, she drops her invisibility, and they have an emotional reunion. Her mother explains she is magically bound to the house and urges Rune to leave, as the king would never release her because she knows too much. Rune tells her she has seen her father, now King Altair’s advisor, which makes her mother angry and fearful. Draven arrives moments later and recognizes Rune’s mother, revealing that they already know each other and that Rune’s parents were involved in the mortal uprising against the immortals.

Draven enters the bathroom, and he and Rune’s mother recognize each other with mutual hatred. He accuses her of betraying the uprising and helping bring about his father’s death. Using the Hierophant card, Draven projects a memory of Rune’s mother speaking to him as a child about revenge on the immortals. She confesses that Rune’s father was a general for Kieran Ceres, the uprising leader, and she was Ceres’s top alchemist. She identifies Draven as Ceres’s youngest son, whose birth name was Kallos. She admits she had a druid alter Rune’s and her brother’s memories for protection.

Draven realizes their inquiries to King Eldarion have inadvertently led King Altair to Rune’s mother’s location. She reveals she had changed their surname and her own first name to protect her children, fearing this day would come. Rune demands they uphold their deal and save her. Draven reveals the devastating truth: her mother created the blood-magic Curse that underpins the Selection. She confirms this and argues that if the immortals capture her and force her to undo the Curse, their vengeance on mortals and changelings will be far worse. She asks Draven to kill her to protect everyone, but he refuses.

She threatens to expose Draven’s true heritage to Altair. Rune’s mother then reveals that Nox, the druid goddess of night and Kieran Ceres’s lover, is the mother of Draven and his brother Adonis, making Draven part divine. Rune is furious at Draven for this lie of omission, her vow tattoo burning. Overwhelmed by both their betrayals, Rune’s anger at her mother overtakes her love. Draven vows to find a way to protect Rune’s mother for Rune’s sake. They both turn invisible and depart through a portal, forced to leave her mother behind.