After Veses dies, Sera and Ash take control of the court. Most of the draken are killed or leave, while many people flee. However, those who remain form an allegiance to Sera when she orders their dead be given a proper burial, assigning her own gods to assist.

The group then travels to Phanos’s court on the Triton Isles, intending to Ascend Saion to Primal if Phanos will not align with them. However, they find his court is completely empty, with none of his 200 ships in the bay. Sensing a feeling of danger, Sera shadowsteps with Ash to it. They arrive in Vathi, where Attes’s court is under attack.

Ash and Sera fight on the battlefield alongside Attes’s soldiers. They make their way toward Attes, who fights his brother on the outskirts of the battle. As Sera watches, Attes disarms Kyn. He punches him through the chest, causing Sera to yell out to him. In response, Attes calls to her to find Lailah and Ascend her. As she shadowsteps, she hears him yell out in grief and pain over killing his brother.

In the wake of the battle, Sera learns that the vast majority of Kyn’s soldiers defected to Kolis, while more refused to swear loyalty to anyone else. Ash goes to the Pillars to deal with the recently deceased souls, while Sera checks on Attes. He spends much of the day sleeping by Lailah’s side as she recovers from her Ascension.

When Ash returns, Sera calls on a Fate so that she can set up a meeting with Kolis. To her surprise, Holland answers. She finds herself still bothered by the fact that he did not intervene to save Lasania, but, at the same time, she is happy to see him.

Sera and Ash tell Holland that they want to meet with Kolis to discuss a truce. They do not want a Fate there, as it would mean that they could not use violence. They choose the Bonelands, as it is the closest place to the tomb they have set up for Kolis in the mortal lands. Although they keep much of their plan from Holland, he agrees to do his best to convince Kolis to meet with them.

That evening, Sera finds Attes in Lailah’s room. She comforts him while insisting that he is allowed to grieve Kyn. Despite everything he did, Sera believes that Attes is allowed to remember Kyn for the good person he was when they were younger. Attes tells her that, after everything is over, he will go into stasis so that he can truly rest for the first time in a long time.

The next day, Holland returns and confirms that Kolis has agreed to the meeting. The group then meets to discuss their plans.

Kolis chose a Sun Temple that is near the shores, likely to have Phanos’s army and his ships nearby. Sera and Ash lay out their plan to have their soldiers there as well. Many will be hiding in the forests nearby, while others will be in the caves. Nektas and the other draken will target his ships. Thierran will wait nearby, ready to trap Kolis in his emotions, then Sera and Ash will take him to his tomb.

As Sera and Ash stand at the Sun Temple, they see Phanos’s ships arriving in the ocean. Vicious sea creatures known as ceeren swim through the water as Sera orders Nektas to destroy Phanos’s ships. The cereen move onto the shore and the battle begins. Soldiers rush from both sides of the cave and the forest, as Sera and Ash step into battle.

As they fight, Kolis arrives on his draken, Naberius. He taunts Sera and Ash. Sera tries to offer him Sotoria, but Kolis refuses to engage, instead retreating and sending Revenants, dakkais, and more ceeren to attack them.

Locked in battle, Sera sees several of her soldiers, gods, and draken fall. Nektas is severely wounded yet resists Sera’s calls for him to retreat. Sera realizes that they are going to lose the battle. She thinks of all her allies joining the other bones around her in the aptly named Bonelands. The thought makes Sera realize just how many fallen soldiers and even dragon lie around her from the centuries-old battle with the Ancients. Desperate to save her people, she calls on the eather. She sends it into the ground, causing bone soldiers and dragons to rise.

Sera instructs the army to attack Kolis’s soldiers and draken. She then spots Kolis inside the temple. She and Ash pursue him.

Inside the temple, Ash and Kolis begin fighting in their Primal forms. Sera is first attacked by a god, Varus, then by Callum. Callum manages to stab her with a dagger but misses her heart. When Sera kills him, something strange happens with his remains, but Sera pushes it out of her mind.

Nektas returns to the battle. In response, Kolis sends Naberius after him, and the two draken fight. Ash is severely wounded as Naberius damages his wings with his claws. In response, Kolis pushes toward him, insisting that he is finally going to kill him. However, at that moment, Thierran appears behind Kolis. He grabs his head, then forces Kolis’s worst fears to come true inside his mind. As Kolis writhes in distress, Sera sends all her strength into him, using eather to knock him unconscious.

Ash, Sera, and Attes take Kolis to his tomb in Oak Ambler. They chain him to the wall with Ancient bones. When Kolis regains consciousness, he begins taunting Ash, insisting that he will kill his children. He promises to rise again as the “Bringer of Death and Destruction” (698). Ash rips out Kolis’s throat, stopping him from speaking again.

Sera gives Ash a spear made of Ancient bones. Ash kisses Sera, then puts the spear through Kolis’s chest and into the wall behind him.

As Sera and Ash leave the cave, Sera is overwhelmed by a sense of dread. She thinks of what Keella told her about the Fates and Sotoria. She urges Attes to take them to the Star diamond.

Attes takes them to his palace and the Star diamond. However, it is gone. Sera demands that a Fate come to them immediately, and Aydun appears. She accuses him of taking the Star diamond, but he responds calmly that they are too late.

Aydun explains what Eythos misunderstood about the prophecy. Sotoria’s soul has always been important because she was the second daughter of the first mortals. As a result, she is always reborn as a second daughter in Sera’s bloodline. Eythos thought that Sotoria would be reborn as Sera, so he put the embers of life in her; however, he did not realize that it had to be the second daughter, and Sera was the first. Now, Sotoria’s soul will wait to be reborn until there is a second daughter from Sera and Ash’s bloodline. When that happens, she will be the “Queen of Flesh and Fire” (708), with the blood of both life and death in her from Sera and Ash. She will awaken the Ancients and bring destruction to the realm, forcing the gods to stand against her.

After Aydun leaves, Sera tells Ash and Attes about what she saw when Callum died. She believes that he disappeared through a rift in the realm, possibly set up by a Fate. She believes that the Star diamond has been given to him for protection.

The three discuss how to get the Star diamond back and how to stop Sotoria from being reborn. Sera and Ash say they will not force their children not to have children of their own, nor will they kill anyone to stop their bloodline. They then discuss another part of the prophecy, that the daughter will “call the name of the true Primal of Life” (711). Sera suggests that they keep her identity as Primal of Life a secret. Despite Ash’s disagreement, Sera insists that she does not need acknowledgement of her titles, as those she cares about will know the truth.

Two months later, Sera and Ash have been working on Sera’s trauma related to feeding, slowly working toward Ash being able to feed from her again. She is adamant that she is ready to have a connection with him. The two have sex, then Ash feeds from her for the first time since she became a Primal. Although it initially instills panic in her, looking into Ash’s eyes calms her down. When he finishes, they realize that their hearts are beating in sync.

That night, the Shadowlands hold a celebration in honor of their victory against Kolis. As Sera walks through the Great Hall, she talks with Bele, Aios, Nektas, and others. They still have not found any information about the Star diamond, but they continue to search. They lost many of the Revenant and other creatures Kolis created as they fled after the battle, but Sera is confident they will eventually hunt them down.

Sera finds Attes. He tells her that he is ready to go into stasis the next day to rest but will return. As he watches Lailah dance, Sera wonders if they will have a future together.

Sera then meets Ward. They discuss the future of Sotoria and how the Fates are involved. Sera trusts Ward and wants him to be the viktor that protects the child when it is born.

Finally, Sera returns to the table next to Ash. As she looks out at everyone who has gathered, she sees them as “family.” She knows that they will one day have to deal with more chaos, but for now, she is happy to enjoy her time with them.

Ash sits in his study, going over plans for the new estate in Dalos. They destroyed all that belonged to Kolis to fully erase his influence. He spots Sera nearby, spying on him. She is supposed to be resting, as she is only days away from giving birth. So far, there have been no complications other than a little bleeding, but Sera has become drained by the experience.

When Ash scolds Sera for not resting, she tells him that her mind has been preoccupied. He realizes that he never let her see his paintings. He takes her to see them for the first time, thinking that he can finally paint her.

The final Epilogue is narrated by the Fates. They watch as Callum travels with the bag containing the Star diamond. He walks for centuries, always staying on the cusp of society, never becoming involved as the world goes through periods of struggle and prosperity. Eventually, the Crimson Queen rules the mortals, and Callum gives her the Star diamond. When the “second daughter” is born, she calls on Sera and Ash, as the Ancients and Kolis stir in their tombs. However, the Fates are hopeful, as there is one thing they cannot control, which has the power to change destiny: love.