Auren regains consciousness on the cold floor, her back throbbing with pain. She stares at her severed ribbons scattered around her. When she tries to move them, only pain radiates from the stumps on her spine.

Digby’s voice startles her. Seeing him conscious brings her to tears. He reveals that after witnessing raiders take her weeks ago, he rode straight to Ranhold to alert Midas and has been imprisoned in this cell ever since for losing her. Auren notices his blackened pinky—frostbite from his ride through the cold. She tells him Sail died protecting her. When Auren vows to make a deal with Midas to free him, Digby refuses, insisting his place is with her. She confesses he was the closest thing she had to a father.

Auren decides to rest, hoping Slade will realize she’s missing. Moments later, four guards burst in. Despite her struggles, one forces more dew into her mouth. As the guards drag her from the cell, she loses consciousness to the sound of Digby’s shouts.

A decade before the main narrative, 15-year-old Auren hides beneath a dock in Derfort Harbor after servicing a customer. She has secretly saved 30 coins in a pouch sewn into her skirt. A man working for Barden East, a rival flesh trader, confronts her and demands she come see his boss. When two of her enslaver Zakir West’s goons approach, the rival flees. Knowing Zakir will punish her, Auren runs down the dock and leaps into a small boat pushing away from shore.

The boat’s captain, Mara, realizes Auren is escaping and offers her passage to Second Kingdom in exchange for scrubbing the ship’s floorboards. Auren is elated. A crewman, Hock, keeps Zakir’s men from swimming after them. Auren sits in the boat, watching Derfort Harbor disappear, feeling the sea breeze as a promise of freedom.

Heavily drugged, Auren drifts in and out of a dreamlike state. She dreams of snow, seeing Digby and then Sail telling her to guard someone. She wakes in an unfamiliar bedroom, disoriented, her body throbbing with unnatural arousal from the dew. Time blurs as she sees fragmented images—guards, Polly holding petals, Midas.

Midas touches objects to her arm—a fur shawl, a crown, a shell necklace—to turn them gold. She prepares for the ball in a daze. She hears Midas instruct Polly to watch her and give her another dose of dew before the demonstration.

More time passes. Standing by a balcony door, Auren’s attention catches on a gold ribbon in Polly’s hair. She reaches for her back but feels only her dress and sharp pain.

Polly leads her to the mezzanine overlooking the ballroom. Auren scans the crowd below. The sight of golden tapestries triggers her memory, and she recalls in horror Midas cutting off her ribbons with a sword. Overwhelmed, she hyperventilates. Polly offers her more dew to calm her, but Auren refuses and crushes the petal. As Polly frantically tries to salvage the ruined dew, Midas enters with Rissa.

Midas angrily dismisses Polly for trying to give Auren dew before his planned demonstration. Auren recalls the plan with Rissa to escape that night and silently signals for Rissa to flee. Rissa reluctantly leads Polly away. Midas instructs Auren to gold-touch the railing when he signals during his speech.

As Midas announces his betrothal to Queen Kaila to the ballroom below, Auren’s gaze finds Slade in the crowd. The sight of him fully anchors her consciousness, dismissing the drug’s haze. She recognizes the gilded items Queen Kaila wears as the objects Midas touched to her skin earlier.

Midas signals for the demonstration, but Auren refuses. After smoothly covering the omission, Midas confronts her in the shadows. Auren accuses him of drugging her, hurting Digby, and cutting off her ribbons. He admits everything, stating her punishments were deserved.

Auren vows to escape. When he threatens to kill Slade and Digby, she warns him that if he touches them, she will kill him. As dusk steals her sun-based power, Midas mocks her helplessness, then reveals he knows her past as the painted girl from Derfort Harbor. Auren realizes with horror that Midas is Barden East, the crime lord she fled 10 years ago.

Midas confirms he was Barden East and explains he followed her after her escape, intending to punish her. When he heard tales of a golden girl in Carnith and witnessed her power manifesting, he recognized her true value.

Midas orchestrated an attack on Carnith from which he could then rescue her to earn her trust. He then married into Sixth Kingdom’s throne using her magic. He boasts that he now owns half of Orea and will take the rest.

He threatens to keep her perpetually drugged and drain her magic until she dies. He pulls out one of her severed ribbons and ties her wrists with it, warning her to stay put or he will kill Slade. After Midas leaves to make the royal toast, Auren watches from the mezzanine as he, Queen Kaila, Prince Niven, and Slade gather on the dais.

After the toast, Prince Niven suddenly collapses, clutching his throat as black veins spread up his neck and dark froth bubbles from his lips. A mender rushes forward, but the prince dies within moments.

A guest accuses King Ravinger of the murder, pointing to the black veins on Prince Niven’s neck. The crowd’s shock transforms into blame directed at Slade. Auren realizes Midas planned to frame Slade and eliminate Fourth Kingdom as a threat.

When Midas orders Slade detained, Auren frees one hand, pushes through the guards, and stands in front of Slade. She publicly accuses Midas of killing the prince and declares she will never return to him. Slade’s Wrath close ranks protectively around her.

Slade’s body double appears for the first time without his helmet, revealing himself to be Slade’s brother. He carries a stumbling Digby. Auren warns Manu, Queen Kaila’s brother, that he should escape as well. Understanding the truth about Auren and Slade’s relationship, Midas insults her. Slade bristles, but he and Auren stand united against Midas.

After a tense standoff, Midas tells Auren to leave with Slade. As they turn to go, his guards create a distraction, allowing Midas to grab Auren and hold a blade to her throat. He threatens to kill her if Slade uses his magic, proving his sincerity by cutting her neck and drawing blood.

Slade urges Auren to use her ribbons. She tearfully says she cannot, and Midas reveals they were cut off. Midas calls her “helpless,” making Auren furious enough to unleash her magic on an unprecedented scale. She calls to every piece of gold in the castle. The metal turns molten and comes alive at her command. The gold liquefies the guards’ armor to kill them, melts the blade at her throat, and pins Midas to a wall.

She confronts the trapped Midas, taunting him and letting the gold devour him from within until he is dead and encased in solid metal. However, Auren’s rage is unquenched. As the magic threatens to consume the entire castle, she feels herself dying from the strain of controlling so much power. Slade urges her to release the magic. She panics, unable to stop the gold from creeping toward him.

When Slade refuses to leave her, he kisses her, whispers for her forgiveness, and then unleashes his rot power into her body. The rot severs her connection to the magic, and she collapses unconscious.

Slade panics when Midas holds Auren hostage. He restrains his power, knowing the threat is real. He grieves when he learns her ribbons have been cut off.

He watches in awe as Auren’s aura flares and she unleashes her power, turning the ballroom into molten gold. He orders his Wrath, his brother Ryatt, and Digby to escape while he stays, certain Auren will not hurt him.

When he sees her aura rapidly draining, he realizes the magic is killing her. Panicked that she will drain herself to death, Slade kisses her, asks for forgiveness, and pushes his rot magic inside her to force her into a stasis between life and decay, severing her connection to the gold.

Her hold breaks, and the gold crashes down. Slade catches her limp body and runs through the solidifying castle with his Wrath. Digby confronts him, ordering him to fix her. Carrying Auren toward his army’s camp, Slade tells Ryatt they must retreat to Fourth Kingdom immediately. He knows Queen Kaila survived and will blame Auren for the massacre. He anticipates they will come for her and vows to be ready.