After another day in captivity, Selena plans to steal the door key from Draven once he falls asleep. She spends two hours in the bath to give him time to fall asleep, but when she emerges, she finds him awake and waiting for her. He corners her against a wall, teasing her about being sexually aroused. He then uses his hand to bring her to the brink of an orgasm. Just as she is about to climax, he abruptly pulls his hand away, mocking her. He leaves her collapsed on the floor, sexually frustrated and furious. Selena silently vows to get revenge for his manipulation.

On the eve of the third trial, Selena prepares an ambush. As Draven enters the room, she hits him with a heavy book. He easily overpowers her, pulling her back into the room as she tries to run past him. They struggle and fall to the floor, with Draven pinning her beneath him. As Selena squirms, she intentionally arouses him. Draven gets up to retrieve a pair of steel handcuffs, attaching one end to the leg of his desk.

Seeing an opportunity, Selena drops to her knees and makes a provocative offer. He grabs her by the throat, accusing her of using her magic on him, but she points out that her eyes aren’t glowing and his reaction is entirely his own. She then initiates a fierce kiss, which he returns passionately. During the kiss, she maneuvers him against the desk and snaps the free handcuff onto his wrist. Declaring it payback for the previous night, she escapes through the unlocked door.

At the gathering hall for the third trial, Draven glares at Selena. Imar explains the rules: The 24 remaining contestants must obtain one of 10 wooden coins from 24 civilians. Alistair immediately uses his fire magic to violently threaten a volunteer for their coin, revealing that a single contestant can collect multiple coins.

Selena uses her emotion magic to scan the volunteers, identifying a coin-holder by sensing who has the strongest spark of worry. She then approaches the woman and uses her magic again, this time to amplify the volunteer’s logical thoughts. By calmly persuading the woman that giving up the coin is the safest and most rational choice, Selena acquires one peacefully and passes the trial.

Two days before the final trial, the 10 remaining contestants share a tense dinner. Fenriel tries to ease the mood by asking everyone what they would do with their freedom. Trevor says he would open a bakery while Fenriel wants to travel the world. Kevlin reveals that Isera’s mother won the previous Atonement Trials and abandoned her as a child. Isera confirms this, stating she would use her freedom to find and confront her mother. Lavendera only says her life would be “filled with lots of pain” (206). The brief camaraderie ends when Alistair threatens to kill anyone who stands in his way and storms out, reminding them all that they are rivals.

The 10 finalists gather at the edge of the thorn forest for the final trial. Ten dragon clan leaders, including Draven and the ruling Iceheart monarchs, are present. Empress Jessina delivers a speech portraying the fae as a wicked race whose subjugation is a justified atonement for their ancestors’ crimes. Imar then announces the contestants’ objective is to retrieve one of three rings from a stone altar hidden deep within the forest. The first three to present a ring to the emperor and empress will win. The contestants are provided no food, water, or supplies. The trial begins, and all 10 sprint into the dangerous woods.

Immediately upon entering the forest, Selena realizes she has no chance of finding the altar on her own. She decides her best strategy is to follow another contestant. She first considers tracking Lavendera, who is rumored to live in the forest, but realizes she doesn’t know what specific emotion to track in the mysterious woman. Instead, she chooses to follow Fenriel. She reasons that his hawk can scout from the air, and more importantly, Fenriel’s consistently cheerful disposition makes his excitement a unique emotional signature she can lock onto. Using her magic, she follows him for hours at a grueling pace until she senses a sudden, massive spike in his excitement, signaling that he has found the altar. Despite her exhaustion, she sprints toward his location.

Selena arrives in a clearing to find Fenriel holding one of the three rings. Just then, Alistair, Isera, and Trevor burst into the clearing and snatch the last two rings from the stone altar, sparking a chaotic fight. Isera traps everyone inside the clearing with a dome of ice. During the battle, Alistair shoots a blast of fire into the path of Fenriel’s hawk. To save the bird, Selena dives and shoves it out of the way, receiving a severe burn on her arm. Before fleeing, Isera drops a magically cooled piece of ice that soothes Selena’s injury. Overwhelmed with gratitude and horror at his hawk’s near-death, Fenriel gives his ring to Selena, stating he owes her a debt. He then leaves to hunt down Alistair. Now in possession of a ring, Selena runs from the clearing only to realize she is completely lost.

After wandering for two hours, Selena climbs a tree to get her bearings. She is horrified to discover she is at least a full day’s walk from the city. While in the tree, she finds an unfamiliar green fruit. Desperate for food to help her burned arm heal, she eats it and is relieved when it restores her energy. As night falls, she searches for shelter and spots a cave-like structure made of gnarled branches. As she approaches the entrance, she hears a low growl from within, and a massive monster charges out.

A huge creature, a cross between a wolf and a bear that Selena identifies as a wolfbear, attacks her. She manages to wound it with her knife, but the wolfbear quickly corners her. As the beast lunges for the killing blow, a black dragon lands directly behind Selena, shielding her with its body. The dragon is Draven, who incinerates the wolfbear. He then shifts into his human form and approaches Selena with a furious expression.

Draven berates Selena, revealing he was assigned to watch over the trial and is furious to find her so deep in the woods. He is stunned to see she has one of the rings and, declaring she doesn’t deserve it, demands she hand it over. Selena refuses and flees into a dense thicket, thinking he is too large to follow. However, Draven uses lightning to blast a path through the trees and easily catches her. He tackles her to the ground, pins her, and holds her own knife to her throat, forcing her to surrender the ring. As he lectures her, another lightning bolt strikes the ground nearby. The ground beneath them gives way, and Selena and Draven fall into an abyss.