Gravely wounded by a cursed arrow, Aefe flies with Ishqa away from the battle. They land in a forest clearing where Ishqa removes the arrow. Wracked with grief over their fallen companions, Aefe apologizes for Ashraia’s death before losing consciousness. She dreams of Siobhan and of Caduan warning her something terrible was coming. Waking, Ishqa reveals Aefe’s father betrayed the Wyshraj, killing most of their army and attacking the House of Wayward Winds. Disgusted, Aefe vows to depose her father and offers Ishqa a future alliance. They have four days to reach the human leaders’ meeting. Aefe declares they will strike directly, ending both this war and the one with her father.

A chest inscribed with Tisaanah’s name appears on their doorstep, filled with hundreds of severed hands branded with the Zorokov sigil. Inside the cottage, a tall faceless creature speaks in a reverberating voice, warning that the Zorokovs do not appreciate being lied to. Tisaanah attacks with a weapon while Max transforms into fire. The creature vanishes and reappears through Tisaanah’s mirror, tackling her and draining her life force. Unable to fight with magic, Tisaanah smashes Stratagram ink to shatter all the glass in the house. The creature vanishes. Birds arrive through broken windows carrying a warning and a Stratagram for escape. As more creatures approach the burning cottage, Max activates the Stratagram and they disappear.

Aefe drinks Ishqa’s blood to transform into a bird for faster travel. Landing for the night in a golden field, she wishes Caduan could see it, and weeps. Aefe and Ishqa discuss their afterlives and acknowledge they may die tomorrow, exchanging vows of honor. The next morning they fly to a crescent-shaped island with a single circular stone building. The Wyshraj reinforcements have not arrived. Undeterred, Aefe prepares to fight with just the two of them. Ishqa insists on entering through the front door, claiming there are dissenters inside to speak with. He takes her hand and pushes the door open before she can protest.

Max and Tisaanah arrive via Stratagram on a distant beach. They find a circular stone building with columns carved in Old Besrithian, an ancient dead language. Inside, a tall man with long golden hair and golden eyes turns to face them, remarking that they received his gift. Before Max can demand his identity, Tisaanah gasps that she knows him. The man introduces himself as Ishqa Sai’Ess and says he is there to right a wrong from long ago.

Aefe and Ishqa enter to find two dozen humans inside. A scarred, silver-haired man magically tears Aefe’s weapons away while another human paralyzes her mind. She collapses. Ishqa tells the scarred man he has fulfilled his request and expects the same in return. Aefe realizes with horror that Ishqa has betrayed her. A white-haired woman identifies Aefe as an Essnera. As Ishqa prepares to leave, the scarred man tells him Aefe will become the most powerful thing the world has ever seen. Aefe breaks free momentarily and screams Ishqa’s name. He looks back with a stony face as she is dragged away, and her vision goes white.

Tisaanah recognizes Ishqa from memories shared with Reshaye—golden hair and devastating betrayal. She says aloud that he knew Reshaye. Ishqa asks if that is what she calls herself and Tisaanah asks if the name means something. Ishqa reveals that Reshaye means “no one.”

Over an undefined period, Aefe endures constant torture and experimentation, her body carved away while she is magically linked to dying humans. Her hatred for Ishqa initially anchors her, but her memories fade one by one: of home, Caduan, Siobhan, her sister Orscheid, and finally the feeling of love itself. When her physical body is gone and she exists only as raw energy in white rooms, she loses her name. When her captors ask who she is, she answers that she is no one.

Ishqa explains that centuries ago he betrayed another Fey named Aefe to humans in exchange for a political alliance, leading to Reshaye’s creation. He says a powerful new Fey king has united the scattered Fey but has grown obsessed with destroying humanity, and is actively hunting Max and Tisaanah to weaponize Reshaye. Tisaanah realizes the presence from her dreams was this king. Max says Reshaye is gone but Ishqa doubts it can be truly destroyed. Ishqa deduces the king has allied with the Threllians. He offers to bring Reshaye back to use against the king but Max and Tisaanah refuse. Ishqa reveals his true motivation: His son is among the missing Fey, and he wants to stop the king’s path of vengeance. He gives them a Stratagram and a feather to summon him, then transports them away.

At the Towers, Nura meets them covered in blood after shadow creatures killed eight Syrizen at the destroyed cottage. Recognizing she knows what the creatures are, Max presses for information. She leads them to a secret subterranean study, then prepares a spell in a golden bowl that will let them see her memories. Max is shocked by this uncharacteristically vulnerable act.

Through Nura’s memories, Max and Tisaanah witness her history. She meets Max aged 10, they enlist together aged 12, and become an unstoppable fighting duo during the Ryvenai War, beginning a physical relationship Nura keeps secret. At Sarlazai, she forcibly opens Max’s mind and releases Reshaye to end the battle, causing her own burns and the deaths of the Farlione family. Consumed by guilt, she testifies on his behalf, ensuring he is declared a hero. Years later, attempting to Wield Reshaye herself, she receives a terrifying vision of a Fey invasion culminating in her death at the hands of a crowned Fey king. Convinced the vision is real, she secretly begins preparing Ara for war, allies with Zeryth to destabilize the monarchy, and manipulates events to bring Max and Tisaanah together. She shares her memories so they will understand the threat.

Nura reveals a laboratory with six imprisoned Fey behind a glass wall. Max recognizes one as Ishqa’s son. Nura is using them to create magical weapons to stop the invasion, attempting to create more beings like Reshaye. Tisaanah finds bills of sale and realizes Nura has been purchasing Threllian slaves, intending to use them as experimental subjects, just as Tisaanah herself was once used. Nura pleads that these sacrifices are necessary to save millions and free Tisaanah’s people. Tisaanah storms out. Max tells Nura she is wrong.

Returning to the destroyed cottage, Tisaanah and Max find the scorched crate of severed hands. Tisaanah collapses sobbing, despairing that her efforts have led only to more suffering. Max comforts her. At the refugee district, she delivers the news of the murders. The refugees react with grief and anger, and Filias blames her for false hope. Breaking down, Tisaanah admits her powerlessness and failures, kneeling in the road in penitence. Riasha kneels beside her and begins singing a Drifting Song, a traditional funeral hymn. Max, Serel, and the other refugees join them in a moment of collective grief.

Walking back, Max and Tisaanah fantasize about disappearing to a remote place with a garden by a lake. She makes the fantasy feel real, asking if he would leave right now. He is about to agree when Moth and young soldiers interrupt, reporting all leave is canceled. Moth confronts Max, demanding to know if he is abandoning them to fight alone. Shaken, Max promises he is not. The couple feel this encounter shatters their fantasy and replaces it with duty. Tisaanah tells Max she has a new, risky plan that he will want to reject.

At Nura’s confirmation ceremony as Arch Commandant, the third councilor Iya unexpectedly withholds approval and calls forth Max as a candidate. Nura objects, but Tisaanah reveals her blood pact included a clause giving Max a clean slate. Iya declares a fourth trial—a duel—must be held and Nura insists it happen immediately. The duel is set for sundown in the Scar. Afterward, Sammerin is horrified but agrees Nura cannot rule. He warns Max she knows all his weaknesses and will fight to kill, and advises against using the strange magic inherited from Reshaye. Max prepares for the fight, resolved not to lose.