Acker is physically drained after manifesting through the Bond to protect Jovie. He meets with King Edmond, who reveals that he has formed an alliance with Captain Wren of the Alaha, who’s betraying Roison. Acker is disgusted by this partnership, remembering that Wren was responsible for stealing Jovie’s memories when she was taken from Maile as a child.

When confronted, Edmond claims that his Match, Greta, who has the magical gift of sight, couldn’t have foreseen that their daughter, Beau, would betray them and go with Jovie. Acker admits to his father that he has visited Jovie through the Bond.

Edmond and Wren reveal the plan: Edmond will provide magic to Wren’s people in exchange for their allegiance, though Edmond would never share his methods for obtaining it with anyone, including Wren. Wren explains that his men are too deeply embedded within Roison’s army to switch sides openly yet, but Acker is deeply suspicious of their true motives.

Later, King Edmond confronts Acker in his bedchamber, revealing that he knows Acker hired someone to follow him when he left the palace. Edmond then demonstrates that he has regained his magic and acquired the gift of kinesis, the ability to move objects with his mind. He explains his new power: He knows how to steal the magical gifts of other Heirs.

Horrified, Acker secretly seeks out Greta, whom Edmond confines to the palace library. He asks her to use her gift of foresight to see the future. Greta has a vision of widespread death and shifting allegiances, concluding with an ominous prophecy: “The king of Kenta will prevail” (93). She also tells Acker that nothing aside from killing oneself along with one’s Match breaks the blood oath.

Jovie and Fredrich arrive back in Maile’s capital late at night. Before entering the palace courtyard, Jovie finds a carrot to pacify the territorial guard rabbits that her mother keeps. Inside, she’s greeted by Evelyn and Beau, who remarks that Jovie’s aura seems muted (Beau’s magic allows her to see auras). A maid brings Jovie a cup of a sleep-aid tea, and Jovie remembers Fredrich’s earlier, unexplained parting instruction to drink the tea.

While bathing, Jovie suddenly feels Acker’s presence through their Bond. Panicked, she puts on several additional mangi-stone necklaces to block the connection. She quickly drinks the tea, climbs into bed, and loses consciousness.

Convinced that he must overthrow his father, Acker goes to his friend Wells, whom he finds preparing to flee Kenta. Acker persuades Wells and his wife, Olivia, to join him and travel to Maile to seek an alliance. He reveals that their plan also requires Irina, whose magic is illusions, to conceal their ship during the journey.

Wells is openly hostile toward Irina, as both he and Olivia believe that Acker should’ve stayed with Jovie and assumed the throne. Despite the tension, they travel together in a carriage toward the coast.

A week after her return from the border, Jovie and Beau plan to meet with Drake, the new naval commander, at a local tavern. Evelyn expresses her concern but allows them to go, sending a basket of her famous toffee cakes for their friend Messer, who will also be there. As they walk through the capital, Jovie notes how openly and peacefully magic is integrated into daily life in Maile. During their walk, Beau reveals that her mother, Greta, sent word from Kenta about a growing rift between King Edmond and Prince Acker. Jovie is frustrated, admitting that she thought it wouldn’t take so long for Acker to see through his father’s manipulations. She worries that her and Beau’s betrayal may have pushed Acker further into his father’s influence, potentially corrupting his heart.

At the tavern, Jovie, Beau, and Fredrich meet with Messer, Drake, and Sam. Messer relays intelligence from Kai, confirming that Captain Wren has allied with King Edmond in exchange for magic for Wren’s people. After the meeting, Messer teases Fredrich about courting Jovie, but Fredrich states that he has no interest in competing with her Matching Bond with Acker.

Drake then jokingly offers his own affections to Jovie, which prompts a surprisingly angry and protective outburst from Fredrich. Later, after Messer walks Jovie home, Drake appears at her bedroom door, claiming that Messer sent him and said that she had requested his “services.” Utterly mortified, Jovie slams the door in his face.

On the ship to Maile, Olivia remains openly hostile toward Acker—she was friends with Jovie and Beau and believes that he made the wrong decision. During a private conversation with Wells, Acker confesses his plan to kill his father. Wells suggests seducing Jovie as the best strategy for securing an alliance and then falls back on groveling.

The suggestion triggers a painful memory for Acker: On his wedding night, Jovie appeared in his room through the Bond. He stripped Irina bare and began to have sex with her, but the feedback of Jovie’s emotional agony overwhelmed him, forcing him to stop. He never touched Irina again after that night.

As their ship approaches Maile, Irina uses her illusion magic to conceal them from the Maile armada. Acker, Wells, Olivia, and Irina then take a smaller boat toward the shore. However, Irina, drained from the effort, loses her concentration, and the illusion falters. They’re spotted by an archer on the wharf, who fires a rope-tethered arrow into their boat and begins reeling them in.

The archer then aims a wooden-tipped arrow directly at Acker, signaling that his identity is known. On the loading dock, a Maile soldier prods Olivia, and Wells furiously draws a dagger on the man. Acker shouts for him to stand down, and Wells reluctantly releases his hostage, narrowly avoiding bloodshed.

Jovie spars aggressively with Messer in the training arena. Three horsemen race up from the city to report the capture of four intruders. Feeling the unmistakable pull of the Matching Bond, Jovie realizes that Acker has arrived in Maile. She and Messer ride to the wharf, where they find Acker, Irina, Wells, and Olivia being held by Maile soldiers. The sight of Acker with Irina fills Jovie with a wave of dejection, as she concludes that he couldn’t have come for her. Masking her turmoil, Jovie walks with authority through her soldiers to confront the group.

Jovie asserts her authority by ignoring Acker and greeting Olivia first. She then forces Acker to kneel before her and her soldiers as a display of power. He formally requests an alliance with Maile against the forces of his father, Wren, and Roison.

Jovie stuns him by revealing that she’s now the queen of Maile. She rejects his petition but offers to let Wells and Olivia stay. She orders Acker and Irina to leave her territory in two days.

Before she departs, Acker asks to see his sister, Beau. Jovie replies only that Beau was unsure if he would want to see her. She turns and leaves without agreeing to pass on the message.

In a tense war-council meeting, Jovie is visibly agitated. Sam is furious that she’s allowing Wells and Olivia to remain in Maile, arguing that they’re a security risk. Beau volunteers to meet with Acker. Jovie agrees and dispatches Sam to Roison to personally update their ally, Chryse, on the situation.

Later that night, Jovie has a disturbing realization: A sexual fantasy that she witnessed in Acker’s mind that day was set inside her own bedchamber; the details indicate that he has been visiting her through the Bond while she sleeps. Terrified, she falls asleep clutching her dagger, only to awaken the next morning to find it on the table, freshly sharpened.