Seth tells Darcy that he had a threesome with Caleb, and he is convinced a romance is blossoming between them. Darcy advises him to talk to Caleb directly. Soon after, Gabriel summons her and Seth. He reveals that Orion is out of prison and under house arrest at the palace. Gabriel knows that Lionel is away from the palace and wants to seize the opportunity to meet with Orion. He takes Seth and Darcy with him to the palace where he uses Darcy’s royal blood to magically access a secret tunnel system beneath the palace. They emerge in the summerhouse where Orion is being held, finding him and Darius asleep together.

Orion confirms that shadow magic is being used to prevent him from leaving the area immediately around the summerhouse. The full moon is two days away. As Gabriel detects someone approaching the summerhouse, he, Darcy, and Seth hastily leave.

Geraldine and Angelica prepare for a secret meeting of the A.S.S. (Almighty Sovereign Society), a student group loyal to the Vega twins. Geraldine’s betrothed, Justin, asks her to make their engagement public, but she refuses. The A.S.S. members gather, and Geraldine delivers a rousing speech against Lionel Acrux and the students who enforce his dictates, the K.U.N.T.s (the King’s Universal Night Triumvirate).

The meeting is interrupted by Max and Seth, who warn that the school headmistress and the K.U.N.T.s are coming to raid the illegal gathering. The members scatter, but Geraldine stays behind to destroy the evidence. Just as she is about to be caught, Max appears and uses his magic to help her escape. Geraldine is moved by Max’s actions, seeing it as a sign he might be an ally to Darcy and Tory.

Darius and Xavier return to the palace and meet with Lionel, who is accompanied by Tory/Roxy. As Darius and other family members look on, Lionel makes an announcement to gathering throngs of Fae. Lionel falsely claims that the Tiberian Rats (one of the Fae Orders) are hoarding magical luck stones. Lionel uses this fabricated conspiracy to justify an “inquisition” against all Tiberian Rats and Darius realizes this is the start of Lionel’s plan to commit genocide against Orders he deems inferior.

Later, at their secret hideout, Geraldine, Darcy, and the Heirs discuss a plan to capture Tory and give her the antidote. Darius expresses his fears that the plan will be inadequate to free Tory from Lionel’s magical sway. The discussion is interrupted when an argument erupts between Max and Geraldine; after the latter storms off, Max admits that he has been hoping Geraldine will break her engagement to be with him instead.

Tory chats with Marguerite and Mildred, two Fae who are loyal to Lionel’s case. Mildred discusses the possibility of marrying Darius; Lionel desires this marriage because Mildred is also part of the Dragon Order and it is important to Lionel to keep the Orders (and especially his own family) “pure.” Without fully understanding why, Tory lashes out at Mildred. Mildred assumes her Dragon form (some Fae can shape-shift) but Darius (also in his Dragon form) appears and attacks her. Tory flees into the woods near campus. 

Tory is ambushed by Darcy, Seth, and Max, who use their combined magical power to trap her in a magical cage. Darius transports the cage to the group’s hideout, where Caleb is waiting. Darius becomes hurt and frustrated by the intense fear and aversion that Tory displays toward him, and he leaves. Tory struggles with the cage, causing herself agonizing pain until she blacks out. 

She awakens to Darcy injecting her with the antidote. The antidote causes an immense surge of magical power and Tory transitions into her Phoenix form, causing the cage to shatter. The twin sisters reunite in their Phoenix forms before Tory shifts back. However, Tory remains terrified of Darius and speaks loyally and affectionately about Lionel. While her magical powers have been restored, she seems to be still under the influence of Lionel’s magic. Max urges Darius to leave for the sake of Tory’s well-being. Max also sends everyone else away, explaining that he can use his powers to help her, but needs to give Tory his complete focus. As a Siren, Max’s powers include influencing and absorbing emotions, and he plans to absorb her trauma, helping her distinguish real memories from the ones that Lionel has tricked her into believing. Although she is terrified and disoriented, Tory implicitly trusts Max.

Max spends hours using his Siren powers to navigate Tory’s memories: He confirms that Lionel tortured her and then caused Tory to associate the memories of this torture with Darius (which is why she is so fearful of him). When Tory falls into an exhausted sleep, Max updates the others. He admits that Tory will likely still fear and hate Darius for an undetermined time and Gabriel reassures Darius that “[he] just ha[s] to prove to her that [he’s] not the monster she was made to believe” (247). 

Gabriel explains the next steps: He’ll explain Tory’s absence by claiming she is ill, buying her some time to recover from her ordeal. After that, Tory will have to return to the palace and pretend to still be loyal to Lionel, as it is the only way to keep her safe while the Guardian bond is active. At Darius’s insistence, Max shares the memories of Tory’s torture with him, leaving Darius devastated.

Max returns to his dorm to rest and finds Geraldine is waiting to comfort him. They reconcile, and she holds him as he falls asleep.

The next morning, Max allows Darcy and Gabriel to approach a fragile but lucid Tory. Darcy is overwhelmed with joy to be reunited with her sister and cautiously hopeful about the future. Later, as Darcy attends her classes, Geraldine informs her that she and other students are secretly organizing an underground resistance movement. She is also working to help Tiberian Rats escape Lionel’s inquisition.

The next day, Tory prepares to begin the deception that she is still loyal to Lionel. When she runs into Darius, she struggles with the impulse to feel afraid of him, consciously reminding herself that he has not hurt her and she does not need to be afraid of him. At breakfast, Mildred gleefully describes how her father participated in an attack against Tiberian Rats, accompanied by the Nymphs loyal to Lionel. Tory fights to control her rage and retreats. 

Xavier finds Tory alone. He tells her how much Darius suffered while she was gone, urging her not to let Lionel keep them apart. Tory resolves to focus on her mission, deciding that her complicated feelings for Darius will have to wait.

Xavier is thriving at Zodiac; he has befriended many of the other Pegasus Fae (he is a member of the Pegasus order, which is a source of contention between himself and his father). Although the new segregation rules mean that he shouldn’t be able to see the other Spares (who belong to different Orders), he continues to see them in secret. During one meetup, he confides in his friend Grayson that he has feelings for Sofia, a fellow Pegasus. However, Sofia is paired with Tyler, who leads the group of Pegasus students (in Fae terms, a Pegasus social group is known as a “herd” and Tyler is known as the “Dom” or dominant male). Grayson advises Xavier to challenge Tyler for leadership.

Later, Xavier struggles with his magic in front of Sofia. Tyler confronts Xavier, asserting his claim to Sofia and forcing Xavier to back down. Xavier vows to eventually win Sofia.

Tory returns to the palace, worried about successfully fooling Lionel. Gabriel has a vision predicting that Tory and Darcy will find something significant within the palace (although he can’t foresee what). They plan for Darcy to sneak in via the tunnels so that the sisters can search the palace together. When she arrives back at the palace, Tory visits Orion in the summerhouse (where he is being held captive). Orion is delighted to see that Tory is herself again, freed from Lionel’s magical control. She informs him that Darcy is going to come to the palace and will be arriving at the summerhouse. 

Tory joins Lionel and Clara for dinner; she is surprised that Darius and Xavier are also present. Tory feigns affection and loyalty to Lionel; she is conflicted, because the lingering magic means that she does still feel pulled toward him. During the meal, Lionel announces his plan to persecute Sphinxes and Minotaurs (other Fae orders) for supposedly hiding a secret library. When Darius accuses his father of fabricating conspiracies to persecute Orders, Lionel and Clara inflict painful punishments on Darius. Orion’s Guardian bond is activated (he is magically compelled to protect Darius) and he bursts into the room to defend Darius. 

Lionel warns Darius not to challenge him and leaves. Tory heals Darius and then escorts him back to his room to rest. He pleads with her not to go to Lionel, but she insists that she must. Tory heads to Lionel’s private chambers where he administers the Order Suppressant potion (which suppresses her ability to connect with her Phoenix self and her magical powers). Because Lionel and his allies regularly inject Tory with this potion, Gabriel will regularly administer the antidote (ensuring she does not fall back under Lionel’s magical control). She lies in bed with Lionel and Clara, waiting for them to sleep so she can sneak out and meet Darcy.