Messer returns to the tavern after meeting with Kai. He reveals that Kai has always believed that Jovie was “gifted” to him by Captain Wren, and his condition for an alliance is that Acker must not sit on Kenta’s throne. Messer also explains that Kai, who has the gift of influence, may have used it on Jovie when they were younger. Despite his animosity toward Kai, Acker agrees to a meeting to secure the alliance, seeing it as the only way to move forward.

Jovie, Acker, and their group arrive at a large cottage on the coast. The smell of saltwater fills Jovie with a deep sense of nostalgia for Alaha. She immediately goes down to the beach, where she wades into the cold water. Reaching for her long-suppressed magic, she summons a flicker of light in her palm. For the first time, she feels a desire to become fully acquainted with her gift as a light wielder, embracing a part of herself she had hidden away.

Acker watches from the cottage as Jovie uses her light magic to warm the ocean water so that she can swim. Over the next few days, Jovie trains relentlessly on the beach with her magic and a sword. On the fourth night, Acker confronts her on the stairs, leading to a tense but honest moment where Jovie admits that she has always chosen him. Their conversation escalates into a passionate embrace, which is interrupted when Messer returns with urgent news: Kai is arriving for their meeting a day early.

The next day, the group waits anxiously for Kai, who arrives with his wife, Aurora. During the tense negotiation, Irina confides to Jovie that on the second night after their wedding, Acker sent a man named Wesley to her as a consort. After a lonely year, she accepted Wesley’s companionship; she describes it as Acker offering her something he could not.

The alliance talks quickly fail when Kai reiterates his demand: He will only ally with them if Acker forfeits the throne of Kenta. Kai attempts to influence Fredrich, and he’s unsettled when Fredrich proves to be immune to his power. As Kai and Aurora depart without an alliance made, Kai delivers a parting warning that King Chryse intends to break his own alliance with Jovie and side with King Edmond.

The morning after the failed negotiation, Acker reveals his new plan: He has sent Messer to accept Kai’s terms and will give up his throne. He intends to send Jovie and Irina to safety while he and Fredrich return to the palace to confront King Edmond. Jovie is furious, demanding to know why he took her from Maile if he never intended her to fight alongside him. She insists that he can’t forfeit his title. Their argument is emotionally charged, with Acker insisting that his priority has always been her. Jovie kisses him but then breaks away and shoves him.

Acker details an intensely passionate and aggressive sexual encounter between him and Jovie. Driven by years of anger, desire, and their magical Matching Bond, the moment is a raw and total surrender to their connection. It’s a significant turning point in their physical and emotional relationship, cementing their reunion after years of separation and conflict.

After their intense encounter, Acker and Jovie discuss their next steps. Jovie refuses to be sent away for safety and proposes a compromise: She will go to the Maile forces camped in the nearby valley to lead them, protecting the palace from a different angle. Acker reluctantly agrees, admitting that it’s a strategically sound plan. He also reveals that he was able to read the secret message she sent her mother because he could sense the metal nib in her quill, demonstrating the formidable extent of his powers. With a new plan in place, the group prepares to leave the cottage.

While riding toward the valley, the group is caught in a worsening storm. Messer flies back from scouting ahead with grim news: King Edmond’s soldiers have surrounded the valley, trapping the Maile army and blocking any approach. With their path west cut off and the storm closing in, Acker wants to retreat, but Jovie argues that their only viable option is to push forward to the palace itself.

Acker asks Messer if he can shift into Beau so that they can pretend that Acker is bringing her to Edmond as requested. Messer refuses. Irina volunteers and demonstrates that she can illusion herself to resemble Beau. They agree to the plan, and Jovie is put in iron shackles to complete the ruse that she’s Acker’s prisoner.

Acker, a shackled Jovie, and Irina disguised as Beau ride into Kenta’s capital. They bluff their way past the city guards and enter the palace courtyard, which is stained with dried blood from recent public executions. They’re met by Hallis, Acker’s friend, who’s visibly concerned by “Beau’s” appearance but intuits that he’s missing key information. In a private storage room, Irina drops her illusion. Hallis reveals that King Edmond has executed council members who opposed an alliance with Roison and has imprisoned Zion in the dungeons, confirming the king’s escalating tyranny.

Acker, Jovie, and the disguised Irina confront King Edmond in his sitting room. Acker plays the part of a domineering prince, presenting Irina as Beau and Jovie as his “traitorous bitch” of a Match, whom he has brought to heel. The performance is convincing enough that Edmond, without closely inspecting the illusion, orders “Beau” to be taken to the dungeons. Acker insists that Jovie must stay in his bedchambers, arguing that her rare gift makes her too valuable a target to be left alone. Edmond reluctantly agrees, but only on the condition that Jovie is restrained with a mangi collar and chained to Acker’s bed.

In Acker’s private chambers, Jovie asks him about his wedding night with Irina. Acker confirms Irina’s story, confessing that he couldn’t go through with consummating the marriage because he could feel Jovie’s pain through their Bond. The admission provides Jovie with emotional relief. After they both bathe, Acker puts the mangi collar and a chain on Jovie to maintain their cover. Their tense intimacy is interrupted by the arrival of Hallis, grounding them in the reality of their dangerous mission.