Fate of the Sun King

In the low fae district of The Umbra, Lor, a fugitive disguised as a young man, gathers information. Nadir, the Aurora Prince, watches from a distance, and his possessiveness irritates Lor, reminding her of their strained relationship. For a week, their group has been in Aphelion, planning to infiltrate the Sun Palace to reach the Mirror, a magical artefact that can tell Lor her fate. 

In the tavern, Lor is recognized by Callias, a palace stylist from her time in the recent Sun Trials. He casually mentions he saw Gabriel wandering nearby and offers to go get him, framing it as a mild taunt rather than a warning. Fleeing the tavern, Lor finds a crowd in a square being incited to rebel against Atlas by a High Fae named Erevan. When Atlas’s soldiers descend on the square to violently disperse the protest, Lor is separated from Nadir.

As chaos erupts in the square, Lor tries to escape down an alley and runs directly into Gabriel. He recognizes her and drags her away, demanding to know why she is in Aphelion. Nadir appears, revealing a prior acquaintance with Gabriel. They lead the warder to their safe house, a residence in the Eighth District owned by a woman named Nerissa. There, they reunite with Lor’s siblings, Tristan and Willow, Nadir’s sister, Amya, his captain of the guard, Mael, and his friend, Hylene.

Gabriel agrees to consider not turning Lor over to Atlas if she explains everything. Lor reveals her true identity as the Primary of the Heart realm and the grandchild of Serce, the Heart Queen who tangled with forbidden magic. Lor’s lineage explains Atlas’s obsession with her. Nadir points out that Gabriel helped him rescue Lor from the palace, a claim Gabriel denies. When Lor says she needs to get to the Mirror, Gabriel says he doesn’t want to know their plans because anything he knows Atlas can compel him to disclose. As Gabriel leaves, Nadir asks him directly if he will tell Atlas where Lor is, but Gabriel only replies, “I’m not sure yet” before slamming the door behind him.

Nadir follows Gabriel and confronts him in a coffee shop. Gabriel reveals that while Atlas ordered him to find Lor, a loophole in his magical compulsion allows him to keep her presence a secret for now: He didn’t find her, she found him. He agrees to buy them time. Inside the coffee shop, an earth tremor strikes; reports of such strange phenomena have been arriving from across all of Ouranos. Nadir reflects on his suspicion that Lor is his fated mate, but keeps the information to himself.

Back at the safe house, Nadir finds Lor sitting cross-legged on her bed with eyes closed, wearing the Heart Crown and trying to speak to it, hoping it will release her magic. He offers to help, channeling his own magic into her. The process is intensely intimate, stirring the unresolved romantic and sexual tension between them. However, he’s unable to break the lock on her power. Overwhelmed by their proximity and the intensity of his feelings, Nadir abruptly withdraws and leaves the room, leaving Lor confused and apologetic.

Fourteen years prior, a young Lor was playing in the woods with her siblings, Tristan and Willow. She encountered a beautiful but sinister High Fae woman who offered her cakes before revealing she knew Lor’s true identity. The woman attacked Lor, who instinctively unleashed her forbidden Heart magic for the first time. She first burned the woman’s arm to break free, then fired bolt after bolt of red lightning until the woman collapsed, reduced to a scorched husk. Tristan found her, and terrified of their parents’ reaction, they agreed to keep the incident a secret.

In the present, Lor awakens from a nightmare of the incident in the woods to find Nadir, clad only in his underwear, in her room. Startled, she pins him to the bed with a dagger. He explains he heard her screaming and wanted to be sure she was alright. The tense encounter is interrupted by Willow and Tristan, who also heard her cries. Lor recounts the repressed memory from her nightmare, and the group deduces the Fae woman she killed was likely the one who exposed Lor’s identity to King Atlas and Nadir’s father, King Rion.

Lor insists they must travel to the Heart settlements to learn more about this threat before they attempt to reach the Mirror. Nadir is reluctant because of the danger but confirms that his contact Etienne knows someone who was close to Lor’s grandmother and wants to speak with her—information he had already shared with Lor privately. He agrees to the trip once Etienne confirms it is safe, but insists they continue working to unlock Lor’s magic in the meantime.

Nadir takes Lor and Tristan to a secluded clearing outside Aphelion to practice magic. There, Tristan reveals that he can wield both the red lightning of Heart magic and a green, nature-based Woodlands magic. He admits this power has been growing recently, though he doesn’t yet fully understand its scope. Nadir realizes that in the past Lor’s magic has only manifested when she believed Nadir was in mortal danger. To provoke it, he stands beneath a cliff and triggers a rockslide, refusing to move. Terrified he will be crushed, Lor successfully unleashes a blast of lightning to save him. The incident reveals the depth of her feelings for him, but when he presses her, she asks only for his friendship, needing more time. They spend the rest of the day practicing, and Lor gains more control over her power, though it remains partially blocked.

The next morning, news arrives that the Savahell Mine has collapsed in The Aurora, killing almost 600 low fae, a group of prisoners from Nostraza, and every guard on duty. Tristan, who was forced to work in the mines while imprisoned, is deeply shaken. The tragedy strengthens Nadir’s resolve to stop his father, King Rion. Amya reports that Apricia is hiring new lady’s maids, presenting an opportunity to infiltrate the Sun Palace. Willow immediately volunteers, eager to contribute despite the danger. Overruling objections from a protective Lor and Tristan, Willow insists on taking the role. Amya agrees to dye Willow’s hair blonde to disguise her resemblance to Lor.

That evening, Lor finds a newly blonde Willow in the garden. Willow confronts Lor, revealing her deep guilt for allowing Lor to protect her from sexual abuse in the Nostraza prison. She blames herself for Lor’s subsequent anger and inability to trust, culminating in a painful argument. After Willow storms off, a woman named Hylene joins Lor. Hylene shares her own history of sexual assault and reveals that Nadir rescued her from an abusive client years ago, forging a strong bond of friendship and loyalty between them. Their shared experiences create a connection between the two women, and Hylene reassures Lor that she and Willow will reconcile.

At the Sun Palace, Gabriel again pleads with Atlas to remove the arcturite cuffs from the captive Tyr, whose mental state is rapidly declining. Atlas refuses. In Atlas’s study, they are confronted by Apricia’s father, General Cornelius Heulfryn, who demands Atlas set a date for the bonding ceremony to his daughter, threatening political repercussions if he continues to delay. Cornered, Atlas announces the ceremony will take place in two weeks. Afterward, a furious Atlas questions Gabriel’s loyalty and gives him two weeks to find Lor. Furious, Gabriel storms through the palace, where he briefly sees Apricia interviewing a new lady’s maid (a disguised Willow). He notes something familiar about her but cannot place it and moves on without recognizing her.

Nadir watches Mael train Lor with a dagger. Their session is interrupted by an agitated Gabriel, who warns them they have only two weeks before he is forced to reveal Lor’s location to Atlas. Soon after, Willow returns, having secured the position as Apricia’s lady’s maid. The group solidifies their plan: Willow will gather information from inside the palace, while Hylene will secure an invitation to the bonding ceremony by charming a minor noble, allowing her to act as an additional internal spy. With these plans in motion, Lor successfully argues they should use the intervening time to travel to the Heart settlements. Nadir agrees, noting that Etienne has already arranged a meeting with someone who knew Lor’s grandmother, and they will go once he confirms it is safe.