Auren wakes at dusk the day after Slade carried her to her room, still recovering from power burnout. She reflects on their kiss, feeling both hopeful and terrified. Scofield summons her to a formal dinner welcoming the Queen Kaila of Third Kingdom, but first, guards must conduct an immediate assessment of her rooms.

During the search, Auren realizes she left a forbidden fae book on a chair and sits on it to hide it from the guards, who are checking everything against an inventory list. When Scofield asks her to stand, she refuses, using her state of undress as an excuse. The guards leave, and she hides the book in a dress. She reflects that the constant room checks make it difficult to turn items in her room to gold to sneak to Rissa.

After getting ready, Auren enters the formal dining room and is instructed to sit beside Midas. She meets Queen Kaila Ioana of Third Kingdom, along with Kaila’s brother and advisor Manu and his husband Keon. Midas forbids Auren from drinking wine as punishment for letting Commander Rip carry her the previous night, then pinches her thigh hard under the table when she makes a sarcastic remark.

Prince Niven insults Third Kingdom’s trade policies, and Queen Kaila puts him in his place. She reveals her magic involves controlling voices. When Niven boasts about King Ravinger’s power, Slade enters the dining room, having overheard the comment.

Slade enters with his Wrath, a group of four elite soldiers who know of his fae identity, and Auren feels immediately calmed by his presence. She notices one of the Wrath is a Rip look-alike who lacks the magical aura of the real commander, confirming it’s an impersonation. Throughout dinner, tension permeates the table as the monarchs exchange veiled insults.

Queen Kaila compliments Midas’s power, and he dismisses it as nothing, claiming to have mastered it. This enrages Auren, who has drained herself countless times for him. Kaila cunningly asks for a demonstration, trapping Midas. He asks Auren to pass him her goblet, intending to take credit for her magic. In defiance, Auren holds it without letting her bare skin touch it, engaging in a silent power struggle with Midas while the table watches.

Thinking of Digby’s safety, Auren relents. She removes her glove and touches the tabletop, causing gold to erupt across the entire dining table. Midas takes full credit. When the sun sets, Auren’s power drains away, leaving her lightheaded and overwhelmed. She feels Slade’s magic, which calms her.

Midas catches Auren staring at the Rip look-alike and orders her to play the harp. She refuses, shocking everyone. Midas insists and orders the Rip look-alike to carry her to the harp, revealing he knows the commander carried her the previous night. To Auren’s disappointment, Slade gives permission. The look-alike carries her unceremoniously and drops her on the stool. For the next hour, Auren plays an aimless tune, feeling like a performing pet.

After hours of playing the harp during dinner, Midas walks Auren to her room. In her room, she opens the balcony doors, needing the reminder that she is not trapped. Midas confronts her, demanding to know why she let Rip touch her and revealing Rip also lifted her from her horse upon her arrival. He crudely asks if she slept with Rip. When Auren retorts about watching him with his saddles, Midas slaps her, the first time he has ever struck her.

The blow shatters Auren’s remaining feelings for Midas. He immediately expresses shock and remorse, blaming her for making him lose his temper. He suggests they go to bed so he can show her he loves her. Disgusted, Auren uses her ribbons to forcefully shove him away when he tries to kiss her. She demands to see Digby. Midas promises soon and leaves, locking the door.

On the balcony, Auren screams into a pillow. She uses her ribbons to climb down from the balcony and runs through the snow toward the antechamber, determined to find Digby and escape.

Malina is awakened by Jeo, who frantically packs a bag. He tells her the rioters have breached the castle walls after the guards abandoned their posts and let them in because she ordered them to slaughter their own people. Her advisors and most palace guards are gone. When Malina asks why Jeo didn’t abandon her, he doesn’t answer.

Her four remaining guards escort them through the castle. They hear the mob destroying the castle, hacking away gold from the walls. They reach a hidden doorway concealed by a tapestry, leading to a dark passage. While waiting for torches, Sir Loth Pruinn appears, explaining he came back after finding the gates abandoned by the guards. Malina orders him to lead the way.

The mob breaks into another part of the castle, their shouts growing closer. Pruinn, Malina, and Jeo are rushed into the secret passage, followed by two of the guards. The other two guards slam the door shut from behind, sealing them inside and plunging Malina into darkness.

Midas watches sculptors carve ice statues of Prince Niven in the courtyard, reflecting on the boy’s incompetence and his own difficult childhood. Queen Kaila joins him, and they flirt. Midas suspects Kaila uses her walks to magically eavesdrop for secrets. He invites her to a private dinner in his chambers, and she accepts, asking if Auren will join them. Midas says she will not.

After Kaila leaves with Manu and her guards, Midas’s thoughts turn to his anger at Commander Rip for touching Auren. He reflects on Auren’s recent defiance and feels a pang of guilt for striking her, but he decides to leave her alone until the bruise fades, confident she will eventually return to her obedient self.

Midas fixates on an aged sculptor who strongly resembles his dead abusive father. He decides to use the man as an outlet for his anger and need for control. He orders his head guard to take the sculptor to the dungeon. The sculptor is dragged away protesting his innocence and begging for help. Midas feels gratified, imagining it is his father being taken. The other workers are cowed into silence. Midas heads to the dungeons, eager to punish the man.

Three days after Midas struck her, Auren’s cheek is still bruised, but he has left her alone. She has spent the time training her body and ribbons. At night, she has been sneaking gilded items to Rissa and searching the library for castle blueprints without success.

On her way to the saddle wing, Auren bumps into Rissa, who leads her to visit the pregnant Mist. In Mist’s room, Rissa and Mist discuss Polly’s addiction to the drug dew. When Mist asks about Auren’s bruise, Auren tells her it’s from Midas’s temper, but Mist says Auren shouldn’t displease him. Seeing Mist’s pregnant belly, Auren feels sympathy instead of jealousy, realizing they are both trapped by Midas. Mist boasts that Midas promised their child will be a legitimate heir who will one day wear a crown, shocking Auren. Mist then accuses Auren of being jealous and insults her. Auren leaves.

In the saddle wing’s sitting room, Auren gives Rissa a gilded leaf. Rissa reveals a new plan: They will escape during the celebration ball in four days, when the chaos will provide perfect cover. She has arranged transportation and added Polly to the escape party, making it a group of four with Auren and Digby. Auren objects, not trusting Polly, but Rissa makes it non-negotiable. Auren reluctantly agrees, then leaves for the library, feeling sad that to escape Midas, she must also leave Slade behind.

In the library, Auren searches for blueprints but finds nothing. While hiding from scribes, she finds Slade. When a scribe confronts her for being in the library without permission, Slade steps in, claims he gave her permission, and intimidates the scribe into leaving.

Slade follows Auren as she tries to walk away. She confronts him, explaining that his public indifference after their private moments felt like a betrayal, mirroring Midas’s behavior of making promises in private while acting like an uncaring king in public. Slade explains he cannot simply kill Midas due to political ramifications and the potential for a worse ruler to take his place. Other royals might band against him, and his own people would suffer. He tells her he wanted to kill Midas for how he treated her at the dinner.

Slade caresses her neck, and though Auren feels the pull between them, she slaps his hand away. She turns her head, and he demands to know why there’s a bruise on her cheek.