Three years later, Mildred laments her upcoming marriage. Bernie promises to stay with her sister as long as possible, but Mildred fears that her pregnant sister’s fully human baby will soon distract her from her worries about Mildred.

Though Mildred is only 14, her marriage has been expedited because a war that has broken out between the Seelie and Unseelie courts (the two rival courts of fae) has begun to affect her human kingdom. Her father, Julius, allies with the Seelie kingdom, Ethermore. The conflict originated when the Unseelie queen fled her husband, King Vorx, and sought refuge with the Seelie king, King Garran. Garran also supposedly killed the queen, although these rumors are unsubstantiated. Mildred understands the necessity of her political marriage but resents it nonetheless.

Despite her father’s command, Mildred wanders away from the welcome banquet that is being held in her honor. When she sees Prince Atakan finishing a sexual interlude with two women, he is unashamed to have been caught, and he and Mildred bicker. In revenge, Atakan traps Mildred in a carriage with a venomous snake. It bites her, and Mildred faints just as Bernadette frees her from the carriage.

Two years later, 16-year-old Mildred touches the fang-inflicted scars on her ankle. She never told anyone that Atakan trapped her with the dangerous snake on purpose, although Bernie figured it out. Now, Mildred is attending a ball that she considers to be a premature celebration of victory over the Unseelie court. Mildred plans to get revenge on Atakan at the event.

Mildred watches Bernie with her new husband, Royce, who adores his wife. Mildred’s family welcomes her warmly—except for Agatha, who criticizes her appearance. Mildred attributes her stepmother’s resentment to her father’s insistence that Mildred’s deceased faerie mother was his “true love.” (Rumors circulate that Agatha tried to kill Mildred at birth.)

Atakan lingers on the edge of the party with his cousins and friend, Phineus Oldwood. Atakan eventually approaches Mildred, and the two bicker. Atakan is grudgingly impressed that Mildred is more courageous in her retorts; Mildred fears that he is much physically stronger than she is. When Atakan unknowingly drinks wine that she has laced with venom from the same two-headed serpent that he once used to attack her, Mildred feels immensely satisfied.

Two years later, an 18-year-old Mildred and her family go to the Seelie kingdom of Ethermore to celebrate the death of the Unseelie king. Bernie advises Mildred to avoid Atakan’s attention by being “so boring he loses interest” (27). Bernie and Mildred meet Cordenya, the long-term consort of the Seelie king, Garran. Bernie shares gossip that Garran refuses to marry again after losing his “great love,” the Unseelie queen. Mildred marvels that he could love someone and then kill her.

When Mildred takes a break from the party, she encounters Atakan, who demands to know how she managed to poison him. She denies any involvement in that incident. He grabs her by the throat, which she finds thrilling. He threatens her with the control that he will wield after their marriage, but she refuses to show her fear. They both feel anger and lust toward one another.

Another three years later, a 21-year-old Mildred’s wedding is finally imminent, and she packs for her move to Ethermore. Bernie helps her to pack, as their father is too riddled with guilt to assist. Mildred has complicated feelings about that fact that even though her father loves her, he is still sending her into a marriage that she doesn’t want. She believes that although Garran seeks to postpone the marriage that will bring “a halfling into their royal home” (36), her father has insisted that such delays must end. Bernie alludes to a plan to travel to Ethermore the instant that Mildred sends word seeking her family’s aid, but Mildred doubts that such a plan will work if she ever needs to invoke it.

On the journey to Ethermore, Mildred reflects on her father’s parting revelation that her mother didn’t want Mildred to live with the Fae, as the risks to a half-human girl would have likely led to her death in childhood. Before their parting, he also gave her a “featherbone,” an heirloom from her maternal grandmother, though he could not tell her what it does. When Mildred sees Cloud Castle in the distance, she is relieved that it is finally time to “face [her marriage] rather than fear it” (39).

Nobody arrives to greet Mildred. Elion, the castle steward, informs her that her things have been taken to Atakan’s rooms, but he says that the prince himself is not in the castle; he is “hunting” Unseelie. Elion advises Mildred that the “war never truly ends” (42).

Mildred is fascinated by Atakan’s messy room. She takes a bath, feeling anxious about unpacking her things in Atakan’s space. Arriving just as she finished the task, he taunts her and makes sexually suggestive comments, so Mildred pretends to have more sexual experience than she actually does. He vanishes using magic, alarming Mildred, who fears what else he might be able to do.

Mildred waits for Atakan’s return for so long that she is awake most of the night. Soon after she has fallen asleep, Atakan returns and wakes her, summoning her to breakfast. Elion helps her dress for the meal. As she prepares, she reflects on the origin myth of the Fae: that twin goddesses fell in love with a mortal man who ultimately betrayed them, though not before fathering the immortal faeries.

Mildred breakfasts with Garran, Cordenya, Atakan, Phineus, and a paramour who sits on Atakan’s lap. As Atakan flaunts his sexual affairs, his father is only faintly disapproving. Phineus and Atakan bicker affectionately, exasperating Cordenya. When Atakan mentions Phineus’s mother, his comments anger Phineus’s twin, Pholly. Atakan stalks away.

Mildred writes a letter to Bernie, reassuring her sister that she has arrived safely. Atakan forbids her from attending dinner, and she eats the soup he gives her, even though she fears that he may have poisoned it. He returns while she is bathing, and they banter about his interest in her naked body. She finds his attention arousing, though she believes that her attitude is about sex in general, not about sex with Atakan in particular. They goad one another flirtatiously, each refusing to back down. They then have manual sex, during which Atakan realizes that this is Mildred’s first sexual encounter. Atakan taunts Mildred for the sexual gratification she experiences from the encounter, though she is pleased when he notes that she “won twice” in their battle of wits.

Before Mildred attends a ball in honor of her arrival, Pholly asks if she is “waiting for someone to save [her]” (67), but Mildred insists that she doesn’t “need saving.” Pholly states that the ball is not about Mildred at all; it is just another opportunity for faerie revelry. Atakan asserts that he only came to the ball to torment Mildred. Mildred is annoyed by her betrothed but grows pleased when he tells her that he has been thinking about her.

When Atakan leaves to dance with Ruelle, his current lover, Phineus describes King Garran as “an enigma” known for his unpredictability. Phineus then flirts with Mildred to make Atakan jealous. Atakan insists on dancing with her and admits to his sexual interest, which he resents. Mildred knows that he is trying to frighten her, but she admits to sharing his interest in a physical relationship, despite their mutual dislike. She leaves the ball, flustered, which she considers a victory for Atakan, but she secretly finds their ongoing battle thrilling.

Mildred wakes, unclothed and with Atakan in the bed. He comments that he both sexually desires her and still considers killing her. He asks her to kiss him, then grows annoyed when she refuses and implies that she is naked in bed because she had been planning to have sex with someone else. They kiss, and Atakan makes suggestive comments. Mildred smugly breaks the kiss and leaves him behind, which she feels is fair retribution for his decision to make her wait for him.

Mildred eats in the dining room with Atakan, Ruelle, and Phineus. Ruelle and Mildred are jealous of one another, but Atakan ignores them both. Mildred is also annoyed with herself for thinking about the kiss that she and Atakan shared. Meanwhile, Ruelle’s flirtation with Atakan becomes increasingly pointed, despite his lack of interest. When Ruelle insults Mildred, Atakan sends Ruelle away. Ruelle expresses her doubts that Atakan will actually marry Mildred.

A guard enters to deliver an urgent message to Atakan and Phineus, who leave hurriedly and refuse to explain why. (She later learns that he went to fight the ongoing threat from the Unseelie.)

Atakan returns to his bedroom late at night, severely injured. Mildred carefully removes the iron splinters that have wounded him, reasoning that having him in her debt can only be an advantage. Atakan insists that the Unseelie who attacked were pointlessly rebelling against the “wards,” the impenetrable and irreversible magical borders around Ethermore. Mildred is skeptical of the wards’ infallibility, as she knows that all magic has “a loophole.” Atakan forbids her from leaving the castle grounds, alluding to Unseelie sympathizers beyond the gates. Once the splinters are removed, he falls asleep. The next day, he is gone before Mildred wakes.

Atakan doesn’t return for a week and misses their scheduled wedding, but Mildred is unconcerned. However, she is surprised to find that she misses the anxiety that Atakan’s presence inspires.

Mildred walks farther and farther from the castle each day. As she walks near the edge of the woods, she sees a “felynx,” a flying feline-canine hybrid. An Unseelie rider is on its back; Mildred considers the rider’s brazenness to be a sign of desperation. Fires burn in the distance, making Mildred uneasy about the reminder that violence still plagues the faerie court.

Atakan appears and accuses Mildred of being “interested in the bloodshed” (86). She counters that she is “merely curious.” When he demands to know why she was in the woods, she admits to being bored in his absence. They kiss and have manual sex, but Mildred grows irritated when Atakan stops their encounter before she orgasms. He confesses that the violence he saw during his absence has distressed him. He further admits to feeling obsessed with her, though he conflates this obsession with loathing. Even as they have penetrative sex that is mutually gratifying, the two repeatedly assert their hatred for one another. When they are finished, Atakan cruelly insists that he only had sex with her out of curiosity, but Mildred doesn’t believe him.

Mildred spends the next several days seeking out Atakan, who has disappeared again. She and Elion discuss the fact that the wedding was not postponed because of the attacks; this was merely King Garran’s nominal excuse. Instead, the postponement occurred because Garran does not wish to have a “halfling (half-human, half-fae) in his “pure-blooded line” (97). Elion offers scant comfort when he says that he doesn’t believe the king’s objective is to kill her. When Atakan returns to the castle unharmed, she is relieved but annoyed with herself for caring about him, given his hot-and-cold behavior.

Mildred eats alone in the dining room, satisfied to know that she is facing her fears. She overhears Garran and Kern discussing their theory that the Unseelie king can pass through the magical wards. Atakan inadvertently reveals that the witches who created the wards were killed to protect the secrets of the wards’ construction. Mildred’s father has been complaining about the delayed wedding, but Garran plans to make further excuses. He callously states that Mildred’s life is “meaningless” to the fae. Garran then mocks Atakan for starting to “grow a heart” (100), but Atakan insists he doesn’t care for Mildred. Hearing this, Mildred is unbothered because she is already accustomed to his contempt. However, she fears that if her father pushes too hard for a wedding, Garran may arrange to have her killed in order to render the wedding impossible. As she considers how much she hates being a powerless pawn, she accidentally crushes the featherbone in her fury. When she releases it, a sudden darkness overtakes the room.