Working alongside Matron Pace, Helena nurses countless wounded. One night, the Resistance members gather at headquarters, located in the former Holdfast Institute of Alchemy and Science. Helena worries when Luc doesn’t show up but gives her report to the Council anyway. She explains that they are weakening and suggests that instead of “burning the bodies,” they “reanimate them and use them as an infantry” (297). The Council is incensed, declaring her suggestion a violation of Orion Holdfast’s and the Eternal Flame’s principals. They suspend her from the Council and dismiss her from the hospital.

Soren finds and comforts Helena. Helena knows her suggestion was a risk but can’t think of any other way to turn the tide of the war. Then Ilva and Jan call a meeting with her. They are thankful Luc didn’t hear her suggestion and have decided to use her in a different way. Kaine Ferron wants to be a Resistance spy to get revenge on Morrough for his mother Enid Ferron’s death; he has requested that Helena act as his liaison. They task her with seducing Kaine to make him loyal to their cause. A hesitant Helena agrees.

Helena and Luc meet in the Alchemy Tower. Luc tells her about a new method of killing the Undying and invites her to join him for breakfast. Helena declines. In her room alone, she reflects on her new circumstances before meeting with Ilva and Jan. They discuss the Ferrons, who use their power to convert iron to gold and reiterate their arrangement with Kaine. Afterward, Helena studies the Ferron family history at the library and resolves to make things work.

Helena meets Kaine at the outpost and tells him she will work with him. He demands a kiss to test her willingness. The kiss is strange; Kaine’s body doesn’t feel human. Afterwards, Kaine gives Helena a ring that matches his to seal their relationship. They plan to meet again so Kaine can pass his information about the Undying to the Resistance.

Helena tells Jan and Ilva about her encounter with Kaine. She is unsure she can use her resonance to transmute him; they reiterate the importance of her secret assignment.

Helena and Kaine meet again. This time, Kaine reads her memories, explaining the trick as animancy. He warns her that the Undying will use this trick against her if she is ever captured. He offers her techniques to protect her precious memories.

Helena becomes a pariah amongst the Resistance. She can’t attend Council meetings and is denied information about Luc. She starts to value her time with Kaine. They continue practicing animancy. Helena notices he seems lonely, too.

At headquarters one day, Helena meets her replacement, Elain Boyle. Meanwhile, Helena and Kaine grow closer. One day, Kaine opens up about his arranged marriage to Aurelia and his distaste for her.

As the weeks pass, Helena hones her animancy skills. Meanwhile, she tries keeping up with the Eternal Flame’s work. One day, she runs into Luc. He is upset they haven’t seen each other and again invites her to spend time with him. Remembering Kaine, Helena declines.

Helena goes to the wetlands alone to harvest herbs and medicinals. She muses on her circumstances, unsure what to do. A chimaera appears in the sky, surprising her, as she believed these creatures were extinct. Suddenly her ring starts burning. Guessing that the ring is a message from Kaine, she races to the outpost and finds him. They continue their lessons, and Kaine stresses the importance of acquiring a weapon Helena can use against the Undying. He also reveals that he has his own chimaera. The conversation turns heated when Kaine disparages the Eternal Flame. They argue about Kaine’s obsession with power and insistence that he owns Helena.

Helena reports back to Ilva and Jan, telling them about the chimaeras. Helena used to admire Ilva and was flattered that she showed interest in her at the Institute. Now, Ilva’s motives are unclear. She is especially unsettled when Ilva threatens to hurt her father if she should fail to cooperate. Afterwards, Helena muses on her dynamic with Kaine.

Over the following week, more chimaeras surface in the area. The Eternal Flame assembles a hunting party to fight them. Meanwhile, Helena continues meeting with Kaine. He is unimpressed when she shows him the alchemy knife she got as a weapon. They continue practicing their combat skills. Helena is discouraged that she still can’t beat Kaine.

Another day, Helena is shocked to discover Kaine with a missing arm. As an immortal, his arm should regenerate. A worried Helena attends to his care, and he gradually improves. She feels warmth pass between them, confused by her feelings. She reminds herself that Kaine is not her friend.

That evening, Lila confronts Helena for being distant. She, Luc, and Soren miss her. She’s confused by what Helena told the Council but worried about the Resistance, too.

Helena and Kaine continue training at the outpost. Kaine is crueler than usual, and she leaves covered in bruises. She fears Jan will notice and be upset. She visits Matron Pace for help. Pace introduces her to another new healer named Ivy. While tending to Helena, Pace encourages her.

Over the following weeks, Helena sees less of Kaine, as he has nothing to offer the Resistance. When they do meet, Kaine informs Helena that Morrough is leaving the country and that they’ll be skipping several weeks of training.

Helena informs Jan and Ilva that Morrough will be traveling in Hevgoss. The Eternal Flame plans to use the information to their advantage. In the meantime, Helena takes shifts at the hospital.

Helena is shocked by Kaine’s weakened condition when they meet again. She does everything in her power to help him. She is horrified to discover that the High Necromancer has been experimenting on Kaine, and she starts to piece together the truth. While he is sleeping, Helena notices scars on his body and understands how much he has suffered. When Kaine wakes up, Helena apologizes for everything he’s undergone, using his first name.

Helena and Kaine meet in an alternate location to conceal the medical assistance Helena is giving Kaine. She isn’t sure it’s wise to save him but feels incapable of letting him die now that he trusts her. Each day, Kaine improves. Meanwhile, he shares more details of Morrough’s plans. Morrough is trying to uncover “the key to immortality,” which he promised to Hevgoss militocrats; they now support the Guild Assembly (416). Morrough is using the bones of the Undying to gain power.

Over the weeks following, Helena continues working with Kaine and communicating with Jan and Ilva—who still regard Kaine as untrustworthy. She isn’t sure how to feel.

Helena notices new silver streaks appearing in Kaine’s hair. He attributes them to Morrough’s experiments. The two continue sharing intimate conversations, promising each other not to die each time they part.

Word spreads of lumithium in the wounded’s bodies. Resistance scout Vanya Gettlich is just one victim. From Luc, Helena learns that headquarters is using Vanya’s body to study the effects of lumithium. The friends are upset, as they studied under Vanya at the Institute.

Kaine’s condition improves, and he returns to his old self, readily reminding Helena that he is in control. During a training session, Helena gets upset and fights back hard. She bursts into tears, insisting she doesn’t want any of this. Afterward, they spend the evening drinking and talking. They open up about their pasts.

The Council calls Helena to the Alchemy Tower to perform Vanya’s autopsy after she dies. She posits that the experimentation done on Vanya by Morrough was an attempt to interfere with her resonance, but she isn’t sure it was effective. The group speculates on the potential goals behind suppressing a person’s alchemy.

Afterwards, Jan warns Helena about getting too close to Kaine. He insists she control him using magic, not emotion. The conversation leaves her feeling more alone.

That evening, Helena asks Kaine more about Morrough’s plans. She suggests he might be seeking the Stone of the Heavens, a mythical orb imbued with immortal powers. Kaine is skeptical, but Helena has always believed the Stone was real.

One day, Luc finds Helena in the lab and confronts her for the proposition she made to the Council. He asks to be involved in the studies she’s doing. Because they involve Kaine and lumithium, Helena declines. An offended Luc storms out. Afterwards, she races to meet Kaine. He nurses her hands, which have sustained injuries from her experiments. Then they drink and talk. Helena feels close to him.

Helena and Kaine get drunk together. They talk intimately and kiss. Helena is overcome with desire until they pull away.

After the kiss, Helena starts crying, afraid Kaine doesn’t like her. He assures her otherwise. They snuggle up together, and Helena falls asleep. Later, she wakes up in his arms. On her way back to headquarters, Helena feels guilty, sick, and confused.

Back at the hospital, a new orderly named Purnell calls Helena into a meeting with Jan. Jan tasks Helena with torturing prisoners for information. Ivy participates, too, delighting in the cruelty.