Emilia and Wrath stand on a parapet at House Greed during a sleet storm fed by Wrath’s dark mood. Greed initially resists their visit since Wrath previously destroyed one of his gaming halls, but a stern second message secures the couple’s entry. Emilia senses the witches’ fear and realizes that they’re already on the lawn, hidden by an invisibility spell. Despite her warning, a guard leans over and is killed. Greed dismisses the magical threat, but Emilia unleashes fire that breaks the witches’ concealment.

A fierce battle erupts. Witches fire magic arrows coated with dragon’s bane, and an arrow fired by Nonna Maria strikes Emilia’s arm. Nonna’s expression confirms that she now views Emilia as an enemy; Emilia mouths a single warning to run. The witches target Wrath with multiple arrows. Enraged that her husband was singled out, Emilia abandons all restraint and incinerates all two dozen witches. Wrath brings her back to herself as demon guards avert their gazes in open fear.

Greed thanks them and invites them to a celebratory ball. Emilia presses him on why his House is continually targeted. He deflects, suggesting that enemies covet his wealth. At the ball, Emilia senses widespread fear directed at her, not Wrath. Lords and ladies whisper about the rise of the Feared, referring to Emilia and her sister. Though Wrath claims that her actions were strategic and brought peace, Emilia feels isolated by the terror she inspires. Troubled by the cycle of vengeance and wanting love instead of fear, she tells Wrath that she wants to visit the Well of Memory immediately. He uses magic to transport them away from the ball.

In Wrath’s garden, Emilia pays the Well of Memory’s tithe by pricking her finger over a goddess statue. A drop of blood forms ruby stairs descending into the reflecting pool. She follows them into a cavern and finds the Well of Memory, fashioned from rose quartz. Climbing in, she asks where the Blade of Ruination is and touches a warm crystal.

The first memory shows a demon from House Greed seizing a hybrid demon-wolf pup as payment for her father’s debt, despite the father’s desperate pleas. Emilia connects this to Vesta, Greed’s commander, whom she suspects was also a hybrid child taken from her family, and her hatred of Greed deepens. She discards the stone and takes another. The second memory reveals Sursea confronting Wrath in his throne room, demanding that he stop her daughter’s marriage to Pride. When he refuses, she makes his silver-tipped white wings vanish and curses him to forget everything but hate. Sursea vows that when he finds true happiness, she will take whatever he loves. Wrath bargains for six years, six months, and six days to break the curse before it becomes permanent, during which Sursea is barred from the Houses of Sin. If he succeeds, she will be banished and must purge the memory. Sursea realizes that House Vengeance was excluded from Wrath’s terms and plans to visit them.

Back in the present, Emilia realizes that the time limit to break Wrath’s curse is nearly expired. Furious, she commands the Well to show her who last saw the blade. She grabs a roughened crystal that cuts her hand and is pulled into a third memory.

The memory follows Lucia, daughter of the First Witch, who has fled to her mother’s cottage on the Shifting Isles. Heartbroken over Pride’s apparent infatuation with a woman from House Vengeance, Lucia argues with her mother about her marriage. As a Star Witch, Lucia had a forbidden romance with Pride. She chose to leave because she changed and started wanting him to be monogamous, a request that she feared would make him unhappy. During the Feast of the Wolf, she left without explanation.

Lucia asks her mother for a forgetting spell to start a new life in Sicily. Sursea provides a satchel containing the spell, a memory stone, and the Blade of Ruination for protection. Lucia knows a secret about activating the blade without destroying it. Sursea warns that Pride’s wounded ego won’t allow him to be abandoned without seeking revenge. She summons Nonna Maria, who gives Lucia tea containing the forgetting spell. Lucia requests a new name and family and asks not to see her mother until she summons Sursea.

After drinking the tea, Lucia’s memories fade. A witch with starlight eyes tells her that she’s Claudia from Palermo, that demon princes called the Wicked are her enemies, and that she has been blessed with Sight and skill with blades. Claudia purges her memories into the stone before drifting into troubled sleep.

Emilia emerges from the Well and realizes that her friend Claudia is actually Lucia, Pride’s missing wife, who holds the key to breaking the curse. Rather than hurting Claudia by restoring her painful memories, Emilia decides to interrogate Sursea for the blade’s secret. In House Wrath’s dungeon, she uses fire to thaw the frozen witch. Wrath appears briefly, his hatred chilling the room. He tells Emilia to take the time she needs and that he trusts her.

As Sursea thaws, Emilia reflects that Vittoria must have known Claudia’s true identity but kept this a secret. When Sursea awakens and taunts her, Emilia threatens to show Claudia the memory stone unless she reveals how to activate the blade. Sursea confesses that Lucia’s blood must be willingly given to activate it and warns Emilia that following through with her plan will destroy the happiness her friend fought to achieve.

Back in Wrath’s chamber, he proposes to Emilia that they combine their suites. He also reveals that they have only one day remaining before the curse becomes permanent. He drinks a tincture to suppress his love, but Emilia refuses this fate, insisting that they both deserve true happiness without restrictions. Wrath offers to release her from their vows if a life with only half his heart is insufficient. Emilia says that she found a way to break the curse but must leave alone and may have to hurt someone she cares about. Before the final confrontation, needing connection, they have sex.

Emilia has Domenico open a portal to the Shifting Isles near her childhood home, keeping the destination secret so that neither Wrath nor Pride can find Lucia. When she asks Domenico a hypothetical question about defending Vesta if she had escaped Greed, he confirms that pack loyalty takes priority above all. As Emilia approaches Claudia’s house, she spots Claudia’s aunt Carolina meeting secretly with Nonna Maria.

A shocked Claudia admits Emilia inside. She reveals that the coven has blocked her magic and freed Sofia from her curse. Emilia demonstrates her restored goddess nature by summoning a burning flower. She explains that she and Vittoria were spell-locked goddesses and that Vittoria is alive. She asks Claudia to activate the Blade of Ruination.

Claudia initially refuses, explaining the terrible price: The blade demands an equal trade of magic for magic, meaning that Emilia will lose all her power. The cursed person must willingly stab the one sacrificing. After the blade is activated with Claudia’s blood and then Emilia’s, they will have only one hour to complete the ritual, with only one opportunity per curse. Claudia offers to travel with Emilia to ensure the full hour, but Emilia refuses to risk exposing Claudia’s identity. She leaves the memory stone in a leather pouch, giving Claudia the choice to learn about her past. Claudia agrees to help and, as she prepares to activate the blade, tells Emilia that the crucial hour is about to begin.

Emilia presents the activated Blade of Ruination to Wrath and explains the ritual requirements. He refuses to stab her and drives the dagger into his desk. She pleads, reminding him that they have less than an hour. Wrath argues that the information could be Sursea’s trap to destroy Emilia’s power or kill her, and he wants to send for the Crone to find another way. Emilia insists that her source is trustworthy and urges him not to let fear keep his heart from her.

After a tense standoff, Wrath reluctantly retrieves their cornicello amulets and puts them on so that they’ll have physical proof if the curse breaks. Emilia unlaces her dress, exposing her chest, and tells Wrath she loves him. He kisses her passionately and, using the kiss as distraction, drives the blade into her chest while speaking the ritual’s incantation. Emilia endures excruciating pain as the blade tears her magic away, and she fights against her survival instinct so that they can complete the transfer. Rose-gold fire explodes as the blade consumes her power.

When the ritual ends, Wrath pulls the blade free and cradles an exhausted Emilia. His magnificent silver-tipped wings of white flame are restored, proving that the curse is broken. Overcome with emotion, Wrath weeps while holding her. Though Emilia mourns the loss of her power, she is awed by the beauty of his wings. He assures her that they won’t burn her and reveals a forgotten ability: His wings can manifest his desire as physical sensation. He draws her close, and his fiery wings envelop them.