Trystan’s attempt to break through a gingerbread wall fails, so he decides to tip the pot of boiling broth to melt an escape route. Just as he does, Greta enters, and the hot liquid chases her out but fails to damage the walls. Greta returns, clarifying she is the personal chef for a giant named Fee, who owns the house. Fee lifts the roof and confronts them for running away when she tried to introduce herself. Trystan explains they are seeking a key, which Fee possesses. She challenges them to take it from her hand. Before they can act, Malcolm launches Kingsley, who is in his frog form. Kingsley snatches the key, and the group escapes on horseback.

Back at the manor, Evie and Trystan reunite with Lyssa. Soon after, Tatianna, Becky, and Clare arrive and inform them that the two baby guvres have escaped the healer’s quarters. Trystan explains to Clare that the key they retrieved is needed for a curse that will rewrite history so he never became The Villain. The escaped guvres appear, and the purple fog they emanate melts a desk. Evie holds the male, Clarke, while Becky holds Cassandra. Gideon then enters, urging everyone to resume the search for the second book of Rennedawn, which he is certain is hidden in the manor. Kingsley feels a sense of dread, believing their fate is now sealed.

While searching a cellar for the book, Clare and Tatianna find an old family portrait that reminds Clare of Arthur. Tatianna tells Clare she wants to restart their romantic relationship. Clare is hesitant, but Tatianna reassures her of her love. They reconcile and share an intimate moment. Afterward, as they continue to look through old items, Tatianna pulls a glittering tablecloth from the wall, revealing something that had been hidden behind it.

In Trystan’s office, the group examines Clare and Tatianna’s discovery, a portrait of Rennedawn’s first king, Julius Benedict Martin, who is Trystan’s ancestor and his exact likeness. As Evie studies the portrait, she recognizes the background as the kitchen. She notices that the stained-glass window depicted in the painting shows a bright sun shining on empty grass with no book and realizes the actual physical book of Rennedawn must be sitting on the real counter in front of the real window.

Trystan and Evie interrogate Calvin, a captured enemy, in the dungeon. To overcome Evie’s hesitation, Trystan provokes her by calling her fearful. Angered, she takes control of the questioning. In exchange for the promise of a healer for his broken kneecaps, Calvin reveals that guvre venom sealed the book and is also needed to release it, and that he had been sent to remove it before they realized its value. Afterward, Evie confronts Trystan for manipulating her. He insists he only wanted to remind her of her own strength. Evie tearfully confesses she is afraid of hurting him, admitting she loves him deeply. Trystan kisses her.

Trystan and Evie share a passionate encounter in a dungeon alcove. He confesses he fell in love with her and reveals he read her favorite romance novel, The Cunning Corset Society, to better understand how to win her affection. The moment brings them closer, and though she is still afraid of what their destinies might hold, Evie agrees to give their relationship a real chance. For the moment, they decide to focus on just being together, regardless of what Fate has planned.

The group gathers in the kitchen to use the baby guvres to release the book from the window. Trystan reveals he sent the enchantress Winnifred back to his manipulative mother’s home, a decision that upsets Evie and Kingsley. Blade teases a disheveled-looking Trystan and Evie about their earlier “interrogation.” Lyssa steps forward, shuts her eyes, and begins to glow before placing both hands on the creatures’ backs, channeling her magic through Cassandra and Clarke. A large cloud of purple smoke erupts from their mouths, enveloping the window. Following a flash of light, the smoke clears to reveal the window is unharmed, and the second book of Rennedawn is now resting in Evie’s hands.

As a hesitant Evie opens the newly appeared storybook, its pages begin to flip on their own. Words magically appear in the air, stating that it’s “a Core Healer’s duty to rid the soul of all pain and to destroy the source of Rennedawn’s sickness” (167). The book then falls open to a page with an illustration of Evie’s face and her name written beneath it, identifying her as the sickness. Before the group can process the revelation, Clare bursts in with urgent news: The Valiant Guards have arrived, have captured Malcolm, and are demanding to speak with Trystan and the “Wicked Woman.”

Trystan’s group confronts the Valiant Guards, who offer to trade Malcolm’s life for Evie. After Trystan and Evie awkwardly confirm their relationship status to the knights, Evie asks worriedly about Winnifred, and Malcolm says she must have escaped; Kingsley scans the crowd for her and notes her absence with apparent personal concern. Trystan’s offer of a bribe is rejected. Evie seemingly agrees to surrender to save Malcolm. However, as the guards release him, she gives a signal to Keeley, who fires an arrow that strikes Malcolm in the heart.