Immediately following their confession on the balcony, Lachlan and Cate have a passionate sexual encounter. He then nips them to his private living room, where they have sex on a rug in front of the fireplace. Afterward, Lachlan carries Cate to her bedroom. There, she opens up about her traumatic past, revealing that she was sexually assaulted while she was a child in foster care. She also explains the history of her emerald ring, saying it is the one keepsake she has of her mother after both her parents died in an accident. Her foster mother, whom Cate calls Gran, told her to never take it off. Before Cate was placed in Gran’s home, she lived in many unsafe, unstable homes and kept the ring hidden. Finally, with Gran, she felt safe enough to wear it.

Deeply moved, Lachlan tells Cate that their bargain must be broken for their connection to become real and uncoerced. However, Cate insists that he not break the deal since she wants to be his. Reaffirming their developing feelings, they have sex again. During the act, Lachlan uses the sash from Cate’s robe to symbolically bind her wrists like a handfasting, and he promises that he will never let go of her.

The next morning, Cate awakens to find Lachlan with her. During another intimate moment, he places his gun in her hand, emphasizing that she is safe with him and has control. Their time is cut short by an urgent knock at the door. Lachlan nips away to his room just as Cate opens the door to Ciara, who is accompanied by Roark, Shaw, and Sirius.

Roark uses his ring to summon Lachlan, who immediately appears, though he is still wearing Cate’s robe. As a result, the others realize that Lachlan and Cate have been having sex, resulting in a moment of levity. Cate then explains to Lachlan that they have been investigating the clover, and Sirius reveals the results of his investigation: The Nether Court’s clover supply has been deliberately tainted with Infernal Court magic. Lachlan’s tattoos shift as he realizes that Bain is behind the sabotage. Furious, Lachlan declares that he will break Ciara’s handfasting to Bain.

That afternoon, the fae courts hold an emergency meeting at the Avalon. Lachlan seats Cate beside him—this is a public act that declares their relationship. When confronted, Bain denies tampering with the clover and accuses Lachlan of lying. Sirius presents his evidence proving the Infernal Court’s guilt, angering Bain, who continues with his denials. Ciara invokes a clause that allows her to end the handfasting with just cause. As she does, the magical tattoos binding her and Bain vanish from their skin.

Lachlan officially banishes Bain and the entire Infernal Court from his territories. Titania, Oberon, and Aurora all witness the proceedings. Afterward, Oberon warns Lachlan that his actions will have severe consequences. Concerned for Cate’s safety amidst the political fallout, Lachlan teleports her to his personal quarters in the Nether Court. Before he heads back to the Avalon, he tells Cate the palace wraiths will guide her toward his bedroom. She follows their moans and sighs to reach his room, where she is cornered by Bain’s penumbra, MacAlister.

In Lachlan’s bedroom, MacAlister reveals his plan to murder Cate as a way to emotionally destroy Lachlan. A violent struggle breaks out, during which Cate manages to grab the gun Lachlan keeps under his pillow, and she shoots MacAlister twice. Though he is on the verge of death, MacAlister laughs as he tells Cate she has caused her own death by killing him: The Wild Hunt will execute her for killing a penumbra. The wraiths in the room summon Lachlan, who arrives to find MacAlister mortally wounded.

Lachlan immediately executes a plan to get Cate out of New Orleans. He gives her a key to a car and tells her to start driving out of the city immediately, saying that there is a phone and money in the glove box. He tells her to call the one number saved on the phone. Then, he makes her swear an oath that she will never remove her mother’s ring. The moment Cate gives her oath, the magical bargain between them breaks, revealing that Lachlan made the original bargain to get her emerald ring. To save her from the Wild Hunt, Lachlan delivers the final, fatal shot to MacAlister, taking the kill shot and the magical mark upon himself. He then teleports Cate away to safety.

Cate finds herself in a secret garage where Lachlan has stashed an SUV and an escape kit. Grieving Lachlan’s sacrifice, she resolves to follow his instructions. However, she first calls her brother, Channing, and arranges to meet him at her apartment. She plans to take Channing with her as she flees. At her apartment, Cate gathers supplies while Channing inspects the magically forged travel documents and money that Cate found in the car’s glove compartment.

As they prepare to leave, Channing apologizes to Cate for getting her involved with the fae world and promises he will get her out of it. Immediately after, Cate is attacked from behind and a chloroform-soaked rag is pressed over her face. As she loses consciousness, the last thing she sees is her brother’s face, and she understands that he has betrayed her.

This chapter is narrated from Lachlan’s point of view. At the same time as Cate’s abduction, Lachlan disposes of MacAlister’s body in a Louisiana bayou. He is confronted by Goemon of the Wild Hunt, who acknowledges the death mark on Lachlan but grants him a head start since he has never liked Bain. Lachlan immediately teleports to New York City, arriving at the apartment of his sister, Fiona, which she shares with her partner Romy. Lachlan is distressed to learn that Cate never made her scheduled check-in call. The emergency line suddenly rings, and it is Channing, who confesses that he made a bargain for Cate’s safety but that he was shot instead.

Lachlan realizes Cate has been kidnapped and starts to formulate a plan to save her. He tells Fiona to call Garcia and have him send an ambulance to Cate’s apartment to save Channing. He recalls that it is through Channing that he met Cate, the person he’d been looking for. He remembers how when she’d first offered him the emerald ring in exchange for Channing’s freedom, she’d slipped it off her finger just enough for its magical effect to waver. Then, he’d caught a glimpse of her true nature, which the glamour on Cate’s ring conceals.

Lachlan decides Ciara will run New Orleans with Roark’s help while Shaw will join Lachlan. He slips off his own ring, renouncing his role as prince and embracing his fate. Immediately, a golden tattoo, the sign of a true mating bond, fully manifests on his hand, allowing him to feel Cate’s heartbeat through their connection.

Lachlan gives his royal signet ring to Roark, thereby abdicating his throne. Roark sees the new tattoo on Lachlan’s hand and recognizes that Lachlan and Cate are true mates. He agrees to protect the court while Lachlan prepares to rescue her.

Cate awakens in a luxurious palace. She quickly realizes she was drugged and abducted. She wanders and discovers she is in the Otherworld. When she sees Oberon, she asks him if Lachlan sent her to him to keep her safe, though she has a bad feeling about the situation. Oberon confirms that he orchestrated her capture by making a bargain with Channing. Cate thinks of how Lachlan sacrificed himself for her, and she briefly sees golden ribbon marks on her hand—the mating bond—but they disappear when she looks closely. Titania then arrives and treats Cate with open contempt. Oberon reveals that his ultimate goal is to manipulate Lachlan into destroying the Infernal Court, which is an act that he hopes will trigger a much larger war between the fae courts.