Darius’s younger brother, Xavier, prepares to leave for Zodiac Academy. Lionel warns Xavier not to do anything to interfere with his plans to seize power, and refers to him “my worthless, spare son” (25). Xavier hates and resents his father but pretends to be deferential. As Xavier prepares to leave the house, he witnesses Clara jealously confronting Lionel: She is angry that he is going to appear in public with Tory, and not with her. Lionel tells Clara that it is politically necessary for Tory to be seen as aligned with him. A reporter arrives at the house and asks Tory about whether she still plans to make a claim to the throne (Darcy has publicized her intentions to do so). Tory, under the sway of Lionel’s magic, claims she no longer has any interest in the throne and that she has “found [her] true place now” (28). 

At the academy, Xavier and his parents meet the younger siblings of the other Heirs: Max’s sister, Ellis Rigel; Caleb’s brother, Hadley Altair; and Seth’s twin siblings, Grayson Capella and Athena Capella. The new students participate in an Awakening ceremony, a ritual that grants them access to their magical abilities and determines what elements they will be able to harness with their magic. It is possible to receive different numbers and combinations of elements (with more elements providing a greater scope of power). 

While Hadley, Grayson, and Athena receive two magical Elements each, Ellis receives only one—water. Xavier, however, is Awakened with three Elements: water, fire, and earth. Lionel is visibly proud of Xavier’s immense power, a reaction that makes Xavier realize his hope for freedom at school was an illusion; his father will now be watching him more closely than ever.

The day after Xavier’s Awakening ritual, Darcy wakes up; Seth and Max have stayed to keep her company. Alongside the loss of her sister, Darcy is grieving her separation from Lance Orion, her beloved; he is currently imprisoned. After Max leaves, Seth confides to Darcy that he has a crush on Caleb. Seth is hesitant to tell Caleb about his feelings because Caleb is straight, but Darcy cautions him that the future is never guaranteed and he should speak up. 

Later, Darcy reads the article written by the journalist who interviewed Tory. The article, which refers to Darcy as her Fae name “Gwendalina,” asserts that Tory has renounced her claim to the throne and references rumors and gossip about past events in Darcy’s life. (Darcy and Lance Orion’s relationship was illicit because he was formerly a professor at Zodiac Academy.) Darcy feels increasingly frustrated that her efforts to free her sister are failing. She finds some emotional relief when she and the Heirs battle with Nymphs (Lionel is secretly allied with the Nymphs as part of his plan to usurp the throne). 

While Darcy is one of the common rooms with other students, Tory suddenly appears. Darcy and Darius rush to her, thinking that she has somehow escaped. However, Tory remains cold and claims not to recognize Darcy. Darcy attempts to use magic to break the spell on Tory but is unable to do so. Darcy, the Heirs, and their friend Geraldine slip away to their secret hideout to discuss this new development. Darcy speculates that her magic was unsuccessful because Tory is under the influence of an Order Suppressing Spell (each of the Fae belong to an order, and Tory and Darcy are both Phoenixes). She informs the Heirs that she knows how to get the antidote: from her brother, Gabriel.

Tory (Roxy) wakes up with her magical bond compelling her to speak to Lionel. The force of the spell makes it painful for them to be apart. She calls him and is frustrated to hear Clara with him. Lionel instructs her to attend a meeting with him that night. After the call ends, Tory feels the sensation of the magical spell (the “shadows”) compelling her to seek out emotional pain, as this is what feeds and nourishes the magic. She slips out of her room and moves across campus. 

Tory runs into Darius, who vows he will never give up on saving her. She tells him that she loves Lionel and attacks him with her shadow magic before walking away. Her friend Geraldine tries to speak with her, but Tory rudely rebuffs her. The force of the magic is compelling her to be preoccupied solely with Lionel and with pleasing him. Darius approaches again and reiterates that he knows her true self is still there. His gesture stirs a faint feeling within her that even the magic cannot fully suppress.

Lionel summons the Heirs and their parents (the Councillors) to a gathering at the Palace of Souls (the royal fortress where Darcy currently resides). Confused, Darius asks Darcy about the location, and she confirms she had no knowledge of the gathering. As Darius gets ready, he is surprised when Tory/Roxy comes to his room and tells him Lionel has instructed her to travel with him. 

Darius, Xavier, Tory and the other Heirs travel to the Palace of Souls together. Lionel addresses the crowd, announcing that he has experienced a mystical, prophetic vision in which the safety of the kingdom was threatened by the Nymphs. He also claims that the stars (a divine element) offered him the power of the Fifth Element (associated with shadow magic) in order to defend and protect the kingdom, but he was required to claim the throne as a single, all-powerful ruler. Darius realizes with horror that his father is making his bid for power. 

Instead of following the traditional ritual by which Lionel could test his strength and assert his claim, he uses the dark magic of the Shadows to immobilize those present and force them to their knees. Although everyone acts from magical compulsion (not free will) Darius realizes that the scene will appear so that “all that anyone would see was one of the princesses and all of the Councillors kneeling at his feet like adoring subjects” (76). Several of the Councillors speak out but are unable to move. An army of Nymphs, under Lionel’s command, emerges from the surrounding woods. Lionel declares the war against them is over because he now controls them.

Some of the crowd begin cheering, seduced by the claim that Lionel has restored peace and deserves to be king. Roxy/Tory places a crown on Lionel’s head. The three Councillors reluctantly swear an oath of loyalty, dissolving the traditional Council structure and making Lionel the sole ruler of Solaria.

Lance Orion (a former professor and Darcy’s lover) endures life in Darkmore Penitentiary; he was sentenced to a lengthy prison term after his illicit relationship with Darcy was revealed and he falsely claimed to have coerced her to protect her reputation and claim to the throne. He attempts to research any information about the Imperial Star, hoping that Darcy and Darius will be successful in finding it before Lionel does. Orion is implicated in the search for the Imperial Star because his late father, Azriel, likely left key information in a locked diary. Orion loves Darcy deeply and longs for her, furious that he is unable to help her. He is also subject to persistent bad luck because he and Darcy previously swore a sacred vow to fight for one another; his imprisonment is preventing him from fulfilling the vow and unleashing the bad luck associated with being in violation of a sacred vow. 

Darius comes to visit Orion in prison (Lionel has previously imposed a Guardian Bond on Darius and Orion, forcibly linking them together). Darius reveals that his father has seized the throne, making their situation even more dire. Darius urges Orion to formally terminate the star vow, explaining that the curse of bad luck it brings is putting him in constant physical danger and preventing him from making any progress on decoding the diary. For the vow to be broken, Darcy will have to come to the prison, and she and Orion will have to see one another. Pained by the thought of seeing Darcy, Orion knows it is necessary and reluctantly agrees.

Darcy and the Heirs grapple with Lionel’s coup. Darius informs Darcy that she must visit Orion in prison to break their star vow. She initially refuses, haunted by the memory of a previous visit to the prison where Orion coldly rejected her. (Darcy does not realize that Orion pretended to be distant in order to protect her.) However, Darcy agrees when Darius explains that the bad luck associated with the vow is putting Orion’s physical safety at risk and preventing him from making any headway on finding the Imperial Star. 

At a school-wide assembly, Principal Nova announces Lionel’s first decree as king: All magical Orders are to be segregated. A new student task force led by Tory, the King’s United Nebular Taskforce (K.U.N.T.), is created to enforce the law. When Darcy and the Heirs protest, Tory uses shadow magic to threaten their younger siblings, forcing them to comply. As students file out of the assembly, an enchantment brands each of them with the symbol of their Order. In class, a new seating arrangement separates students into “lesser” and “higher” Orders. Darcy protests this hierarchy and chooses to sit with the “lesser.”

Furious, Darcy begins to speak out about how Lionel is using dark shadow magic to assume power and control others. She explains that multiple individuals, including herself and her sister, have access to the Fifth Element and the magical power it grants. The professor and Tory use shadow magic to compel Darcy to stop speaking and sit passively. Later, Darcy tells her half-brother, Gabriel (who also teaches at the Academy), about the incident. Gabriel (who is gifted with the magic skill of Seeing and can thus partially predict the future) reassures Darcy that it is still possible to overthrow Lionel but that only the Imperial Star can save the realm. Gabriel agrees to give her the Order Suppressant antidote but tells her the time is not yet right to enact the plan. Darcy is frustrated by the delay in the plan to help her sister. She tells Gabriel that she is going to the prison so that she and Orion can terminate their vow, and he tells her that the future is not predetermined, and individuals can still shape their fates. 

Darcy and Darius go to the prison together, where she and Lance Orion have an emotional meeting in which they mutually release one another from their vow. Afterward, Darcy tries to stifle her lingering feelings for him.

Gabriel (who is teaching a course in which Tory is enrolled) tells Tory that he needs to speak with her after class and proposes they go for a walk. The invitation turns out to be a calculated move to get Tory alone: Darcy, the Heirs, and Geraldine ambush Tory and attempt to inject her with the Order Suppressant. Tory uses magic to defend herself and flees. 

Back in her room, Tory calls Lionel to report the attack. He has previously made her promise to notify him if she was ever attacked. Lionel (who does not know that Gabriel is Tory and Darcy’s half-brother) wonders why Gabriel participated in the plan. Tory then fulfils the other component of the promise: Since Lionel sees it as a failure that she allowed herself to be attacked, she inflicts painful torture on herself. Lionel expresses approval of her self-punishment and tells her he will send someone to heal her injuries shortly.

Caleb seeks a distraction in the season’s first Pitball game. He and the Zodiac Academy team face off against the rival Aurora Academy, led by the flirtatious captain, Rosalie Oscura. After Zodiac secures victory, Rosalie propositions both Caleb and Seth. The three decide to defy King Lionel’s new segregation laws and sneak away to Seth’s room where they have an intense sexual encounter. Afterward, Rosalie reveals she can perceive connections between people and leaves, implying she sees one between Caleb and Seth and doesn’t want to be a third wheel. Caleb agrees to spend the night with Seth, feeling conflicted when Seth casually refers to them as just friends despite their shared intimacy.

In prison, Orion receives a cryptic note from Gabriel with a list of bizarre instructions. By following the list, Orion inadvertently saves a fellow inmate, Jasper Lumien, from a rival gang. Jasper reveals he and Orion’s father, Azriel, were members of the Zodiac Guild, a secret society tasked with protecting the Imperial Star. Jasper whispers the password to Orion’s father’s magically sealed diary and then kills himself, fulfilling a death vow he had made to the Guild.

Inside his cell, Orion unlocks the diary with the password and reads a cryptic letter from his father. The letter explains that the diary can only be read by the light of a full moon. Before Orion can process this discovery, he is abruptly released from prison. Outside, he encounters Lionel, who tells Orion that he is now going to be under house arrest. Lionel reveals that he knows that Orion holds the key to locating the Imperial Star and has a secret diary. Since the magic surrounding the diary means that Orion is the only one who can read it, Lionel tells him to swear to use it to find the Imperial Star. In exchange, Lionel agrees to house Orion on his estate and restore some of his magical powers. 

Orion, knowing that he is not powerful enough to defeat Lionel, vows “to make every effort to find the Imperial Star” (166). He is secretly aware of a loophole: He has only vowed to find the Imperial Star (which he wants to do anyway), not give it to Lionel.