With one hour until execution, Clara discovers inking supplies in a cabinet. Though only powder for Swords cards is available, she uses her unique ability to ink any suit with any powder by mixing in her blood. She creates three cards: the Page of Coins, the Ace of Cups, and the Nine of Cups.

After absorbing the Page of Coins for climbing expertise, Clara descends the prison’s sheer outer wall. At the bottom, she avoids a suspicious boat and instead uses the Ace of Cups to control water, jumping into the icy Farlum River. Exhausted and weakening, she thinks about her found family at the Starcrossed Club, the haven that took her and her sister in, to sustain her. Nearly drowning, she uses the Nine of Cups to wish for salvation. The magic parts the water, but moments later, Kaelis catches up in a boat. He paralyzes her with a spell, and she loses consciousness underwater.

Clara awakens in a lavish bedroom at Arcana Academy, having been kept unconscious for days. A maid named Rewina informs her of her location. Prince Kaelis arrives and reveals that he needs Clara to help him acquire the World, the mythical 21st tarot card. He knows of her reputation as a master thief and of her ability to ink any card with any powder. Her escape from Halazar was a test of these skills.

When Clara refuses, Kaelis threatens to destroy everyone she loves. She attacks him but is too weak to cause harm. His brother, Prince Ravin, heir to the throne, bursts in and announces that Halazar guards are on their way to search for an escapee. To protect Clara, Kaelis produces a forged document claiming that she’s Clara Redwin, the last surviving heiress of the destroyed Clan Hermit, and announces that they’re betrothed. Skeptical, Ravin withdraws.

After Ravin leaves, Kaelis threatens Clara with Halazar’s dungeons if she refuses to cooperate. Terrified, Clara agrees to help him obtain the World card in exchange for protection. She privately resolves to find Arina and escape using a secret passage.

Rewina helps Clara dress in elegant black leather clothing adorned with a brooch that’s the symbol of Clan Hermit, one of the kingdom’s noble families. When Clara asks about the clan’s destruction, Rewina warns her not to discuss it with Kaelis. Meanwhile, Kaelis orders a Stellis knight—one of the crown’s elite royal guards—to stall the Halazar guards. He then escorts Clara toward the Fire Festival, his arm around her waist possessively. They cross a bridge to the main fortress. Despite her mother’s warnings never to enter this place, Clara is simultaneously awed and disturbed by the imposing structure that is Arcana Academy.

Kaelis guides Clara through dark corridors, passing a greenhouse, a library of forbidden books, and an empty lecture hall. When they stop at a door, he instructs her to join the procession for the Arcanum Chalice trials. Before leaving, he whispers, “Luck is on your side” (41), referring to her personal mantra and revealing that he has had her under surveillance. Clara realizes that he planted a spy, a man named Griv, who led her to her capture.

She opens the door and merges with the crowd. Spotting Halazar guards at the rear, she knows escape is impossible. Resigned to completing the trial, she searches for Arina, who wears a special bracelet that Clara gave her, but she can’t find her. The procession splits, and Clara follows the other applicants down a staircase.

Waiting in a room with windows, applicants watch the Arcanum Chalice trials unfold above. When others are confused, Clara explains the ritual: They must draw three cards representing their future, sacrifice one to the Chalice, and fight a magical vision of that sacrificed future using a deck of cards. Success makes them initiates; failure results in being Marked and sent to the powder mills.

She demonstrates to a young woman named Luren how to tie her dress into makeshift trousers. The first applicant is called and completely surrenders to his vision. When he fails to fight, city enforcers brand him with the Mark. The man resists, and Kaelis kills him with a magical sword. Clara feels his gaze find her through the window. She turns away until she is called last, announced as Clara Redwin of Clan Hermit.

Clara enters the vast Sanctum of the Chalice. Kaelis welcomes her and publicly announces their betrothal, shocking the crowd. He explains the trial and has her draw three cards: the Ten of Coins, the Five of Swords, and the Two of Cups.

Kaelis visibly stiffens at the Two of Cups, the romance card, and gives Clara a threatening look. To defy him, Clara selects it and throws the card into the Chalice, which explodes with light. She feels a piece of her soul wrenched away. Remembering advice that her sister gave her about the trial from before her imprisonment, she grabs the deck from the pedestal before the vision forms. The Chalice’s aura transports her to the Fatefinders Club, a ballroom in Eclipse City; she is face-to-face with Liam, her first love.

Liam left for the academy and was forced into an arranged marriage with a woman from Clan Star. He explains to Clara that the marriage has ended and asks her to dance. Despite her hurt, she accepts, torn between old feelings and anger.

Clara nearly surrenders to the vision when Liam whispers her personal mantra—the same phrase Kaelis used earlier. This snaps her back to reality. Breaking away, she summons the Five of Swords, and a rapier materializes. She lunges at Liam, whose form becomes monstrous. He fights back with fire magic and the Six of Swords to soothe her resistance. Clara pushes through, using the Ace of Swords before impaling the vision of Liam. As he dies in her arms, the vision fades. She is left kneeling alone before the Chalice in the silent arena.

Sensing Kaelis’s hatred, Clara composes herself, stands, and bows to the silent audience before leaving the arena. She ascends to a parlor where the 24 other successful applicants, now initiates, have gathered. She observes a divide between noble-born and common-born initiates.

Luren greets her warmly. Clara meets Luren’s skeptical friend Kel, and a dark-haired woman named Sorza thanks Clara for the skirt-tying tip. A noble initiate named Farom is cold toward Clara and joins other nobles gathered around a pale-haired man with yellow eyes. Dristin, a spectacled man, is shocked when he sees Clara’s Clan Hermit pin. The group discusses Marked Arcanists, triggering Clara’s memories of helping many escape Eclipse City through secret mountain passages. Professor Vaduin Thornbrow, head of the Wielding Department, enters and escorts them to the Fire Feast.

The initiates enter the opulent main hall, which contains four house tables—Wands, Coins, Cups, and Swords—plus tables for initiates and faculty. Kaelis delivers a speech explaining that their trials have just begun. To become full students, initiates must first receive a coin from a current student on All Coins Day and then pass at least two of the Three of Swords Trials in winter. Only then can they bid for one of a limited number of spots in a house.

Then, the House Wands announces five available spots, House Coins announces six, House Cups announces five, and House Swords announces two. The initiates realize that there are 18 total spots for 25 people. Clara calculates that with 10 nobles virtually guaranteed placement, only eight spots remain for 15 common-born initiates. She sees Kaelis smirking and understands how much she needs him. He concludes by telling them that classes begin tomorrow.