Slade infiltrates Fifth Kingdom and rots their entire supply of dewdrops, including all seeds, making future production nearly impossible. He briefly encounters the new king of Ranhold, a terrified puppet ruler for Queen Kaila. A worker informs him that one final caravan of dew has already been sent to Breakwater Port.

Flying on Crest over the Barrens, Slade spots a Red Raids land ship intercepting the caravan. The snow pirates steal the shipment. The Red Raids are on his revenge list for attacking Auren when Slade first rescued her. He follows their vessel to a hidden cove. The location features a protective arch and three anchored sea ships.

After nightfall, Slade transforms into his Rip form and enters the pirates’ main cave. When he demands the dew shipment, a pirate refuses. Slade kills him and battles the others, using his arm spikes to slaughter several men. The survivors submit in terror.

Slade promotes a wary pirate named Scab to captain and orders him to return all kidnapped “saddles” to their homes, threatening death if the trafficking continues. He learns the dew was bound for Second Kingdom and that the former quartermaster under Captain Fane, now called Captain Quarter, frequents a place called the Orb in Breakwater. Before departing, Slade rots the dew shipment.

At Breakwater Port, Slade locates the Orb Arch, a gambling hall. After threatening a dealer, he is led to hidden fighting pits beneath the establishment. He spots Captain Quarter, who now calls himself Quarry, and confronts him about stealing horses from the caravan raid, particularly Auren’s horse, Crisp.

When Quarter denies the theft, Slade breaks his nose and beats him until he confesses to selling the animals to ice pickers at Berg Sheets. Slade orders him to retrieve and deliver all the horses to Fourth Kingdom. Quarter reveals he possesses minor magic that lets him predict gambling outcomes. As Quarter departs, Slade secretly leaves rot in the man’s lung that will gradually kill him.

Slade’s attention shifts to the main fighting pit, where handlers are forcing magical beasts to fight. Both animals show signs of severe abuse and starvation. When a handler laughs while branding one with a hot poker, Slade leaps into the pit and attacks him. Guards rush Slade, but he brawls with them all. He deliberately takes hits, using the pain as an emotional outlet. The timberwing and fire claw help him kill the guards.

Enraged by the cheering crowd, Slade transforms into his Rot form and disintegrates the pit fence. He discovers an underground chamber holding dozens of caged animals in horrific conditions. He frees them all.

Exhausted, Slade reflects on his completed revenge list and faces the fact that Auren is in another world; he has no way to reach her, and he fears he will lose his mind from their separation before he can reopen a rip.

Queen Malina and the assassin travel by shadow-leaping, one of his powers, as they follow the fae army toward Highbell. The method is nauseating for Malina and exhausting for him. Each night, he digs snow burrows for them to rest in. During one stop, they argue her being spoiled queen. The heated exchange becomes physically charged when he leans into her space, threatening to finish killing her.

The intimate tension escalates when he grabs the back of her neck. Malina finds it thrilling rather than frightening. He releases her, then relieves himself nearby, sparking another argument. When she insists on stopping at a village ahead, he refuses, making suggestive remarks that fluster her. He declares the fae invasion is her fault, forcing her to face consequences.

They continue traveling until exhaustion forces them to stop near the village. When she pulls back his hood, revealing his stippled skin with patches of light and dark, he is bitter about his appearance. However, they admit they like looking at each other.

Malina decides to walk to the village alone. He follows, making a path through the deep snow. As they approach the gate, he smells blood. She enters to find the entire village has been slaughtered, their bodies hanging on laundry lines.

Malina realizes Loth Pruinn, the fae who posed as a merchant and brought her to Seventh Kingdom, provided the fae with intelligence about Sixth Kingdom’s settlements that guides them through villages to slaughter. Ice forms and falls from her scarred palms as she breaks down, confessing that the assassin was right about her failures. He explains that magic responds to emotions, telling her to use her feelings rather than repress them. He hands her a dagger, saying it is time to help her people. Together, they begin cutting down all the bodies.

Malina cuts down the final body, hesitating when she sees it is a pregnant woman. The assassin gently takes the blistered dagger from her hand. They gather provisions from the empty homes, and together, they burn the entire village as a funeral pyre.

After a sleepless night in a snow burrow, they continue toward Highbell. He becomes exhausted much sooner than usual, stopping at the base of the mountain housing the capital. When Malina pulls back his hood, she sees the strain on his face. He reveals his name is Dommik and challenges her, pointing out his vulnerability and suggesting she could kill him.

She draws his dagger partway from its sheath. The moment becomes sexually charged, but she quickly sheathes the weapon, shaken by the thought that he might actually want to die. He places his hands on her hips, the heat of his touch arousing her.

He moves to kiss her, but Malina panics and turns away, stammering that she is still married in the eyes of the gods. Dommik becomes angry and makes a series of explicit, taunting remarks. He touches her suggestively, then he abruptly releases her and walks away. Left breathless and flustered, Malina smiles.

Osrik returns from training to find Rissa thrashing with fever, her stab wound severely infected despite weeks of constant care. Hojat tells him to prepare for her death. He storms out and encounters Polly, the saddle Rissa helped while she recovered from dew addiction. After initial hostility, Osrik allows Polly to visit Rissa.

Taking needle and thread, Osrik descends to the dungeons to see Manu Ioana, Kaila’s brother. Manu’s wound is healing despite squalid conditions, while Rissa deteriorates under medical care. Enraged, Osrik re-stitches Manu’s wound in a way that causes deliberate pain and bleeding.

Manu expresses genuine regret for Rissa’s injuries and explains his background. Born without magic and rejected by his family for marrying a man, he found acceptance only from his sister Kaila. He vowed blind loyalty to her, which led him to kidnap Auren. When Osrik says turning a blind eye for loyalty is unforgivable, Manu admits he would make the same choice again for his sister.

The torture brings Osrik no satisfaction, and he suddenly stops, leaving Manu’s wound half-finished. As he departs, Manu suggests it would be easier if they did not care about anyone, and Osrik agrees. Caring for his Yellow Bell, as he calls Rissa, torments him.

A week after leaving Geisel, Auren and the growing Vulmin army hide in a misty forest while a large Stone Sword force passes nearby. After the soldiers leave, the group retrieves their horses. Ludogar, Wick’s right-hand man, expresses concern to Wick that all these forces seem headed toward the capital, Lydia.

They arrive at a safe house already full of rebels. Wick instructs Auren to wear her hood. Inside, he announces they have a sign from the goddesses and has Auren reveal herself. The room gasps at her golden skin. Wick presents her return as proof that it is time to mobilize openly against the monarchy. Inspired, all the Vulmin pledge to join the fight.

Later, Auren furiously confronts Wick outside for using her as a prop without consent. They argue about trust and respect. He apologizes and reveals his full plan: gather all Vulmin forces and march on the capital to challenge King Carrick. He passionately pleads for her help, explaining how the monarchy oppresses and kills dissenters.

Moved by his sincerity, Auren agrees to help unite the Vulmin but makes clear her priority is finding the person she seeks (Slade), and she may not stay for the final battle. They shake hands, sealing their truce with mutual understanding.

Slade returns to Brackhill Castle and is immediately confronted by Digby, Auren’s personal guard, who demands to know where Auren is. When Slade admits she is gone, Digby punches him in the jaw. Slade accepts the blow, believing he deserves it. His brother Ryatt stops Digby from continuing the attack.

Later, Ryatt finds Slade at the timberwings’ hunting ground on Banded Mountain, where he has spent three days trying and failing to access his rip-making power. Ryatt is alarmed by Slade’s exhausted state and obsessive behavior. Slade reveals his separation from Auren is causing a mass of black rot to consume his heart.

He explains that when Auren went through the rip, it felt like something was scooped from his chest. He believes she is using the piece of his rot magic that remained embedded in her gold, and their forced separation is killing him. The rot is affecting his magic, and he sometimes feels twinges as if he can sense her. He cannot live without her.

When Slade tries again to force a rip open, he nearly collapses from the strain. Ryatt drags him back to the castle, forcing him to eat. Ryatt urges him to rest for several days, suggesting his depleted magic needs time to replenish. Slade fears he cannot create a rip alone, as his first successful attempt may have involved his father’s magic. They worry that Slade’s mother and the Drollard villagers were pulled back through the closed rip to their original location.

Unable to rest, Slade suggests they spar to take the edge off his anguish. Ryatt agrees, hoping to exhaust him into finally sleeping.

Days later, the Vulmin army arrives at another safe house. Their numbers have grown so large that many must sleep outside. A female fae named Emonie approaches Auren and offers to take her to a hidden bathhouse. Auren agrees.

As they bathe, Emonie offers condolences for Nenet’s death. She explains she grew up in the rebellion because her parents were Vulmin. Noticing Auren’s sadness, Emonie asks about it. Auren admits she misses someone she is searching for. She reveals they can see each other’s auras.

After bathing, Emonie gives Auren clean clothes. Auren uses her gold magic to create a comb, impressing Emonie with her increasing control. On the walk back, Emonie forages for useful plants and berries.

At the house, they claim sleeping spots on the floor. Emonie obtains pillows and blankets by telling others the Lyāri needs them. Auren thanks Emonie for treating her like a person rather than a symbol. They settle in for the night. Auren is happy to have a friend.