Everyone freezes upon seeing a message written in blood on the courtyard wall: “Give her to us.” Chaos erupts. Caspen rushes Tem to the safety of their chambers, while Damon does the same with Gabriel. Caspen explains the Senecas have issued a warning, and they will take Tem by force if she is not surrendered willingly. Caspen reaffirms that he will never allow that to happen and he and Tem make love, recommitting to one another. The next morning, Caspen reveals that Damon has chosen Gabriel as his mate. Tem is upset although Caspen reassures her that Gabriel is under no obligation and can freely choose what he wants to do. Tem goes to retrieve Gabriel from Damon’s chamber and is moved by the obvious tenderness between the couple.

After escorting Gabriel back to the village, Tem visits her parents. She tells her father, Kronos, she volunteered for the bloodletting. He warns it will hurt, weaken her, and impair her ability to transition. When Tem mentions she has been struggling to transition, Kronos becomes worried and asks if she crested someone at the wedding. She confirms she crested Leo. Kronos explains that when a basilisk crests someone they love, the bond must be consummated, or it remains incomplete. Thus, Tem’s ability to transition will keep deteriorating until she sleeps with Leo. He will likewise weaken and eventually die. Tem realizes she is trapped: if she sleeps with Leo, she will save him, but Caspen will then be compelled to kill her due to the curse of the blood bond.

Tem goes directly from the village to the castle, where Caspen is waiting. He urges her to abandon the plan of bloodletting. She insists it is her choice. Inside, Tem says she wants to begin immediately and Evelyn directs her to the dungeon. Both Caspen and Leo offer to accompany Tem, but Evelyn seems nervous about Leo being near his imprisoned father, Maximus. Leo agrees to walk Tem as far as the dungeon door. As Tem and Leo approach the dungeon together, Leo is clearly distressed and pleads with Tem to use the power of the crest to force him to forbid her from engaging in bloodletting. He admits that he is afraid of Evelyn leaving him. Tem enters the dungeon and finds her cell across from Maximus.

Maximus watches as a guard prepares the equipment and begins the painful process of extracting Tem’s blood. Since she has the opportunity of speaking privately with Maximum, Tem asks what he wrote in the forged letter he sent to Evelyn. Maximus states that he never gave Evelyn a letter.

Tem explains Evelyn’s claims about a forged letter being the cause of her leaving Leo. Maximus reveals Evelyn used to steal valuable items from the castle and that he paid her a large sum to leave Leo years ago. Tem realizes that Evelyn never loved Leo, and that she made a terrible mistake in ordering Leo to find her. Maximus speculates that Evelyn only got back together with Leo because he is now king and predicts Evelyn will leave again. He also reminds Tem that stopping the bloodletting ended up being economically devastating for the villagers and tells her that there is no way to break the cycle of violence and inequality.

After the bloodletting ends, Tem goes upstairs alone. Leo calls out to her as she approaches the front door.

Leo is drunk; he tells Tem that he couldn’t bear the thought of her suffering and that Evelyn has gone to bed. Tem wants to leave the castle, but Leo insists she stay and recover. Tem reluctantly agrees and they sit together, talking. Leo confesses he thinks about her constantly; Tem tries to change the subject but they end up arguing about her relationship with Caspen. Leo begins caressing and undressing Tem, but she insists they cannot have sex. Leo tells her to leave. Back at the caves, Tem masturbates while fantasizing about Leo.

Still aroused and restless, Tem reaches out telepathically to Apollo. She asks him to teach her how to petrify and he readily agrees. Tem worries about her inability to transition, a requirement for petrification. Tem and Apollo meet outside the caves and he leads her to a dilapidated cottage on the edge of the forest. Apollo says they will petrify the occupant (a frail elderly man who is suffering and close to death). At dawn, the man emerges to feed his chickens. Apollo tells her to transition, and when she struggles to do so, she gives him permission to help her. Using magic, he pulls the power from her mentally, forcing her transition. They approach the man, and Apollo signals it is time to attack.

Tem and Apollo pull the life force from the old man, who slowly turns to stone without apparent pain. When the petrification completes, a surge of power overwhelms Tem. She returns to human form and is overcome with sexual arousal. Apollo explains that taking a life fills basilisks with power that acts as an aphrodisiac, and that she must climax afterward or lose the ability to orgasm permanently.

Furious he did not warn her before they petrified the man, Tem reluctantly agrees to let Apollo bring her to climax. He stimulates her and then masturbates while watching her. He reveals he wants to have sex with her while Caspen watches. Afterwards, Apollo tells Tem he will take her home and then return to deal with the petrified body. When she asks how, Apollo shows her a hidden chamber deep in the caves filled with rows of petrified human statues. Tem is horrified but Apollo explains this is justice for the basilisks abducted for bloodletting.

Tem and Apollo part ways after she thanks him. At her chambers, she finds Caspen waiting by the fire. He can immediately tell that she has had a sexual encounter with Apollo.

Tem admits that Apollo taught her to petrify; she explains that she didn’t understand that sexual activity was part of completing the petrifying process and specifies that she and Apollo did not have intercourse. Caspen is cold and grim, explaining that he had important reasons for not wanting Tem to experience taking a life. He then makes cruel comments, pointing out her inability to transition into basilisk form and hinting he might tell Leo that she petrified someone.

Eventually, Caspen relents, admitting he should have taught her himself and does not blame Apollo. As they begin to reconcile, his hand is stayed by a magical force that prevents them from touching one another.

Tem and Caspen rush to Adelaide’s chambers, where they explain the situation to Adelaide. She reveals that their inability to touch signals that the Senecas have contested their marriage. The Senecas have now set in motion a process that can only be resolved via a tournament, wherein the winner will earn Tem’s hand. Caspen must participate in the tournament to reassert his claim and they will not be able to touch until the challenge is resolved. Even their blood bond cannot prevent the challenge. Adelaide reveals that the challenge must be initiated by the highest-ranking member of the Seneca clan: Rowe.

Adelaide explains that Rowe’s brother, Eros, will also participate in the challenge. She suspects that if Eros were to win, Rowe would kill him and claim his right to Tem. Tem is furious that she cannot refuse the tournament and terrified at the prospect of being forced to marry Rowe. Trying to calm her, Adelaide explains the structure of the tournament. There will be 12 contenders total (Tem can choose who participates, although Rowe, Eros, and Caspen must be included). After the tournament, Tem’s heart will magically call to her true mate, a fated choice all must abide by. Tem fears her heart might call to Leo or Apollo. Adelaide warns that if Tem refuses, the 12 will fight to the death.

Preparations begin for the tournament. On Sunday, Caspen and Tem go to the castle together and Tem is surprised when Leo announces she will not be going to the dungeon—they no longer require her services. Evelyn becomes furious, arguing that the kingdom’s economy is at risk without Tem’s blood. When Leo says he and Tem will meet to discuss alternatives, Evelyn accuses Leo of inventing excuses to be alone with her. Evelyn tries to create solidarity between herself and Caspen as partners who are being treated disrespectfully, but she insults him by referring to him as a fool of both her and Caspen. When Evelyn tells Leo he should be negotiating with the snake, Caspen’s head snaps up. He warns her in a deathly quiet voice not to call him that.