Blood Bound

After days of seclusion, Skylar is summoned to breakfast with the royal family. The king uses the occasion to publicly gift Skylar an ostentatious dress for the upcoming Masked Ball. Later, Skylar struggles to control her power during training with Axel. Zryan brings an Exhauster named Ezra—his gauntlets removed but their marks still visible—to demonstrate, though without chains he could turn on anyone within reach. Skylar still cannot command her abilities. To provoke a reaction, Zryan spars with her and easily pins her down. Enraged, Skylar’s power surges, and she begins draining Zryan’s life force, feeling an overwhelming craving for his energy. Astrid physically steps between them, her frightened expression finally causing Skylar to pause and let go. Horrified by her actions, Skylar flees to a cliff, where the excess power explodes from her. Axel follows, urging her not to fear her power but to embrace it for her survival. He gives her a dragon-themed mask for the ball.

Distraught after witnessing Skylar nearly kill Zryan, Astrid is comforted by Jessa, who encourages her not to lose hope for the duel. They prepare for the Masked Ball, where heightened security reminds Astrid of the escaped prisoner, prompting her to remember Mikhael and confirm her prior suspicion that Zryan must have freed him. At the party, guests are offered a moonflower cordial that lowers inhibitions, which Astrid drinks. When Skylar arrives in the garish dress from the king, Astrid uses magic to transform it into a stylish black one. Skylar’s newly named dragon, Kaida, is infatuated with Bastet, and the two are sent back to the rooms. Astrid is mesmerized by a shirtless Zryan, who is wearing large metal wings. While Jessa speaks with an informant named Lucia, Astrid goes with her guard, Fionn, to the ice-themed section of the party to avoid Zryan.

Skylar plans to question nobles about the conscript camps. After a brief, charged moment with Axel is interrupted by the queen, Skylar approaches a group of soldiers to ask about her friend, Cam. One soldier, Luc, is hostile, but another reveals that conscripts are sorted by power and that only Primes—the most potent class of magic-wielders—are chosen as “Champions.” Suspicious of Skylar’s questions, Luc ends the conversation. Skylar follows him through the iron door into the lunar section of the party, grabs and twists his arm, then uses her Exhauster power to intimidate him. Terrified, Luc confesses that the Champions are taken to the Heart.

Zryan Teleports Astrid from the ball to a secret, magically created illusion of her home forest in Isfjell. Deeply moved by his gesture, she talks with him, and he admits to freeing Mikhael. When Astrid touches a large scar on his torso, Zryan confirms a witch gave it to him, and Astrid privately deduces her mother must have sent the assassin. Despite this, their mutual attraction culminates in a passionate kiss. Zryan then reveals that he has only ever been able to Teleport when she is with him, and Astrid realizes her unidentified gift is the cause. Astrid realizes her magical gift is Amplification. The romantic moment is broken when Jessa’s familiar, Quincy, tracks them down. Astrid leaves, aware that her and Zryan’s duties will likely prevent them from ever being together.

Reeling from her discovery about the Champions and the Heart, Skylar decides to find Astrid. Axel joins her, and they have a vulnerable conversation about their pasts. Axel explains that his loyalty to Queen Ottilie stems from her taking him in after his mother was killed protecting Zryan and his father died by suicide. Skylar shares memories of her own mother and Cam. As they share a romantic moment, a desperate howl sounds through the party. They run toward the commotion and find a body on the ground wearing Astrid’s mask and clothes, with Quincy grieving beside it. Skylar reaches out with her power and finds no life—confirming her belief that Astrid has been murdered.

As Axel panics over the implications of the broken blood bond, Zryan arrives, distraught. Skylar notices Jessa’s familiar, Quincy, is also dying and realizes the victim is Jessa, who was acting as Astrid’s decoy. In his final moments, Quincy tells Skylar to pass on his and Jessa’s goodbye and love to Astrid, and asks her to protect her. The real Astrid then arrives and collapses in grief. In a surge of power, Bastet transforms from a small cat into a massive winged panther. Skylar spots an assassin on a nearby wall aiming a spear at Astrid. She unleashes her own power, disintegrating the weapon. As the assassin flees, an enraged Skylar gives chase, fully embracing her Exhauster abilities.

Consumed by rage, Astrid vaults onto the winged Bastet’s back and gives chase. She discovers her Amplifier Gift and uses it to boost Skylar’s power, allowing her to catch the assassin. On the beach, at Astrid’s silent command, Skylar brutally tortures the man, who confesses he was hired to kill Astrid by an unknown person from inside the castle. After confirming it was not Zryan, Astrid orders the execution, and Skylar drains the assassin’s life force. Numb, Astrid returns to the party. Axel gently carries Jessa’s body while Zryan places Quincy’s on Bastet’s back. As they fly away, Astrid and Skylar share a look of silent solidarity.

For two days, Skylar supports the grieving Astrid from a distance. When Skylar asks where he has been, Zryan hesitates before revealing he flew to Arturea to tell the queen—Astrid’s mother—what happened. Skylar tells Zryan that her friend Cam was taken to the Heart as a “Champion.” Zryan claims Champions protect the Heart, and she realizes he has been quietly working against his father’s regime. He asks Skylar how she performed such incredible magic during the chase, and she explains she can channel the life force she absorbs. He thanks her for saving Astrid, and they sit in a shared silence, aware the looming duel will soon make them enemies again.

Astrid holds a traditional sailing ceremony for Jessa and Quincy, with Skylar by her side for support. After she sets the funeral boat aflame with an arrow, Queen Gwen arrives. Following an emotional reunion, Gwen is stunned by Bastet’s ability to transform. When Astrid reveals she is an Amplifier, Gwen sees their new powers as a sign they can win the duel, noting the fated parallel of Astrid’s panther and Skylar’s fire dragon to ancient legends. She insists Astrid must kill Skylar. As the funeral boat disappears over the horizon, Astrid is overcome with a sense of her own mortality.