Never Ever After

In a world of three rival kingdoms, the Iron Mountains dominates through its control of iron ore. When the dying king passes the royal seal, a thick iron device adorned with a jewel called starfire, to his son, Prince Zixin, he commands the prince to choose a bride, secure the succession, and conquer the magic-wielders of the mysterious Mist Island. The prince cannot claim the crown until he fulfills these conditions.

19-year-old Yining survives as a fraudulent fortune teller in a remote village, working under her abusive step-aunt, Mistress Henglan. She possesses two remnants of her forgotten past: a handkerchief embroidered with a gold tiger and a plain wooden ring. At the market, a wealthy young man named Jin sees through her disguise. When soldiers arrive after a false accusation of theft, Jin helps Yining escape in his carriage, and she owes him a favor.

Near her home, Yining discovers an enchanted pond where a golden-eyed, speaking carp surfaces. She befriends the creature, naming it Little Dragon. It reveals it was sent by Yining's gravely ill mother to deliver a gift: a magical flower that bonds to Yining's ring, transforming it into a luminous band with a jade-green stalk. Once bonded, the ring can never be relinquished; if lost, Yining will die. Mistress Henglan secretly follows Yining, attacks her, tears the ring away, and kills Little Dragon. After her step-aunt departs for a ball at the Palace of Nine Hills, the royal residence, Yining breaks free from the storeroom where she was locked, buries the carp, and resolves to recover her ring. A flower-shaped mark on her finger throbs, signaling the bond's dangerous separation.

Wearing a dress and shoes that Little Dragon gifted her, Yining steals an invitation and enters the palace. She is welcomed by Princess Chunlei, the prince's older sister, and meets Daiyu, a kind noblewoman who escorts her to the Grand Hall. Yining sees Prince Zixin for the first time and is captivated. She confronts Mistress Henglan and recovers the ring, but her step-aunt frames her by shoving a stolen bangle onto her wrist and screaming "Thief!" Dragged before the prince, Yining defends herself with wit. Prince Zixin confiscates both items for investigation, and Yining boldly asks to remain until her ring is returned. Amused, the prince agrees and invites her to dine beside him. During the banquet, a delegation from Thorn Valley, a neighboring realm, arrives led by Lord Chao and his advisor, Jin, whom Yining recognizes with shock. News arrives that Lady Ruilin, daughter of Duke Yuan of the Amber Forest, has been kidnapped by a magic-wielder. The duke offers starfire as reward, and a tournament is announced to select a champion.

Yining settles into palace life while the mark on her finger worsens. During an evening walk, masked assassins ambush Yining and the prince; they fight together, and Yining kills one attacker, her first kill, which sickens her. Later, Princess Chunlei takes Yining to the Shadow Wing, a hidden underground prison, where Yining glimpses a secret forge. There, Prince Zixin channels a captive creature's magic into iron weapons through the royal seal. Yining realizes the rulers who publicly revile magic secretly exploit it. When the prince proposes she become a consort, Yining hesitates, and he confines her to her quarters.

Jin proposes a trade: her ring for information about a creature stolen from Thorn Valley. After Thorn Valley loses its tournament contender to a suspicious ambush, Jin asks Yining to fight as their masked champion, arguing it is her only escape from the prince's claim. On tournament day, Yining uses distilled peony essence to disorient General Xilu, the prince's military commander, and wins by leaping from the tower a heartbeat before him. Before she departs, Prince Zixin warns that her ring is now in his personal chambers.

At a magic-wielder's tower in the treacherous Death Swamp, Yining breaks enchantments that turn their companions to living statues and trap her and Jin in an illusory dream. They find Lady Ruilin unharmed: The magic-wielder, Dian, helped Ruilin escape an unwanted betrothal. Ruilin and Dian are in love. Dian reveals Jin's true identity as Lord Jin-Yong, heir of Thorn Valley, and exposes Thorn Valley's alliance with the Iron Mountains as a deception designed to restrain and monitor a dangerous rival.

Dian recognizes the flower mark on Yining's palm and reveals she is Yining's older sister. Both wear rings gifted by the Radiant Sky Trees of Mist Island, tokens of their heritage as descendants of flower spirits. Through shared magic, Yining recovers fragments of her childhood: As a small child, she chased the Sun Dragon, one of twin dragons central to Mist Island's magic, after Iron Mountains soldiers lured it with a trap. She was captured, and their mother was seized trying to save her. Dian explains that the Sun Dragon is the creature trapped in Prince Zixin's seal, its stolen magic fueling the kingdom's weapons. The starfire pieces are shards of a fallen god's heart; whoever unites them claims devastating power. Jin reveals his father died protecting Mist Island during the invasion and that he searched for Yining for years.

Returning to the palace, Yining's condition worsens. When poisoned fruit intended for Yining nearly kills Daiyu, Yining instinctively kisses her and cures the poison, the first manifestation of her heritage: A kiss from a flower spirit can cure any earthly poison. She manipulates Prince Zixin into returning her ring as a betrothal pledge and attempts to free the Sun Dragon from the seal, but a magical guardian repels her. That night, she and Jin share their first real kiss.

Prince Zixin seals the palace before his coronation. Yining's midnight escape attempt fails; the prince captures Dian outside the walls, and a soldier rips Dian's ring from her finger, causing her to collapse in agony as dark veins spread from the wound. All three women are imprisoned in the Shadow Wing. The prince forces Yining to wear her ring, which transforms and confirms her identity. He reveals he has known since they met: As children in the palace, he found Yining crying and helped her escape captivity. His father had him whipped and the loyal guards executed. Now he demands Yining marry him and use her ring's root to lead his army to Mist Island, threatening Dian's life. Yining outwardly acquiesces while resolving to resist.

On coronation morning, Princess Chunlei's coup erupts. Her soldiers storm the Grand Hall, where Prince Zixin has opened the seal to reveal the tiny, wounded Sun Dragon. Chunlei reveals she masterminded the original attack on Mist Island and has been poisoning her brother with winterfire berries, administered through a daily health tonic, to bond him to the dragon. She crowns herself queen after a forced marriage to General Xilu, controlling three starfire pieces. Yining presses a stolen dagger against the starfire, cracking it, which forces the soldiers to halt. She kisses the unconscious prince, channeling her curative power to break the poison's curse. The Sun Dragon transfers a portion of his remaining power into Yining's ring, turning its root gold. Magic awakens within her for the first time.

Thorn Valley reinforcements storm the palace on luminous, antlered steeds. Yining channels volatile fire magic to blast open the barricaded doors while Jin uses his shielding ability to contain her power. Queen Chunlei retaliates with the merged starfire's magic, hurling spears of ice. Yining insists on bringing the unconscious Prince Zixin. Jin objects but relents, extracting a promise: Yining will help restore Thorn Valley's failing land, denied Mist Island's sustaining magic since the invasion. Together they fight through the palace gates with Dian, Ruilin, and the Sun Dragon and escape.

The party rides into Thorn Valley, where Prince Zixin is taken into custody. Alone with Jin, Yining confronts him about his manipulations. He admits his feelings are real; she admits she likes him too. At a clearing beyond the forest, Yining presses her ring to the earth, activating the golden root. A hidden path of silver-dusted lotuses appears, forming a bridge across luminous waters toward Mist Island. Taking her sister's hand and acknowledging her fear but resolving to claim her destiny, Yining steps forward onto the lotus path toward the homeland she has never known.