Xavier, Sofia, and Tyler are also alone in Herithé. They are trapped in a deep pit, their wrists ensnared by Starclamps—carnivorous plants that lock down magic and dissolve skin. Professor Washer appears and attempts to rescue them but is grabbed by two flowers and pulled in. He explains that the plants release when tickled and attempts this with his flexible toes. A tunnel opens in the pit wall, releasing hundreds of deadly velox snakes whose venom is fatal on contact with sudden movement.

Washer uses his feet to pick up a sharp stone and cuts through the stems holding everyone. They crawl through the snake-filled tunnel until they smell fresh air ahead, signaling an exit from the trap.

Darcy and Darius are separated from the others and stuck in a magical loop within Herithé’s streets. A door mysteriously opens in a nearby house; once they are inside, it becomes a painting on the wall, trapping them. Darius shows Darcy how to activate her sword, which was once her mother’s, making it glow with white light.

They ascend into a room. Pink mist floods the chamber, and Darcy experiences a hallucination where she is back at Zodiac Academy, but all the relationships are wrong: Orion is dating Seth, Tory is with Diego, and Darius is her mate. As she and Darius are about to kiss in the vision, a memory of Orion breaks the spell over them. They jerk apart, realizing the city was testing them, and continue forward through a new passage.

Geraldine and Max are alone as well, hunted by a Rather Bat, a legendary creature with four regenerating hearts and paralyzing venom. Max has been wounded protecting Geraldine. She realizes the beast’s cries create pockets of silence that reveal the correct path. The bat ambushes and pins Geraldine, biting her neck and injecting deadly poison. She kills it, and her Cerberus Order protects her from the poison.

Following the silence, they find a chest containing the amethyst Aquarius Guild Stone. When Geraldine takes the stone, Herithé crumbles to ash, and the group is reunited. Orion announces they can now discover what happens when all 12 stones are united.

After they return, Orion places the Aquarius stone to complete the circle of 12 Guild Stones. A brief crackle of power occurs, then nothing. After most of the group leaves, Orion studies the stones while Darcy distracts him. When Darcy picks up the Virgo stone, Orion notices it is in the wrong position. Correcting it releases a massive energy blast that transports them into a dark void, where a star named Arcturus of the Sixth House announces that he will show them the makings of fate.

The void transforms into the Halls of Fate, a golden palace where all possible fates are recorded. Arcturus shows them mirror realms and reveals how Fae and Nymphs diverged from a single race called the Faeries. The Shadow Realm was a gift to the Nymphs but was corrupted by a dark Nymph prince who created demons from malevolent spirits. When Queen Avalon Vega banished Lavinia Umbra there, Lavinia merged with these spirits, becoming their ruler and trapping all deceased Nymph souls in eternal torment. Arcturus announces it is time for them to learn the truth of the Guild Stones.

The vision becomes unstable as other stars oppose Arcturus’s interference, but he recites a prophecy about the “rising twelve.” Darcy and Orion are pulled into a vision of the ancient past, overlooking a stone circle where a Fae woman communes with the stars. Arcturus explains that there are two star factions: the Novus stars, who meddle with Fae lives, and the Vetus stars, who believe in observation without interference. The vision shows the chaos the Novus stars caused—wars, destruction, and Fae transformed into monsters.

In the vision, the Vetus stars offer a family, including a Seer, the chance to become fate-weavers who can reclaim Fae destiny from the stars’ control and give the Fae the power of free will. The 12 stones in the circle transform into the Guild Stones, and the Seer is instructed to distribute them to 12 chosen Fae—the “rising twelve”—who will form a council that prevents Novus interference with the help of the stones.

However, the vision does not explain how the stones were actually wielded. When Darcy and Orion are released from the vision, they realize that the stones’ purpose aligns with their need to stop the fallen star Clydinius, a Novus star who may be seeking to add other stars to those walking the Earth. Darcy and Orion decide to search the Library of the Lost for answers on how to wield the stone.

Orion and Darcy use stardust to travel to the Library of the Lost, where Darcy’s queen status grants access. They are greeted by Eugene Dipper and Arnold, a protective Minotaur librarian. Eugene leads them to a private reading room stocked with relevant books, created as a gift for the True Queens.

Darcy finds a book mentioning that stone circles can enhance gemstone power, but Orion thinks testing this is too dangerous without more information. After playful teasing, Darcy and Orion have sex. Afterward, they research for hours without definitive answers about activating the stones.

Back at King’s Hollow (the friends’ protected sanctuary), Darcy and Orion examine the Chalice of Flames and notice an inscription they’ve never noticed before. Orion translates it, and they realize that the ritual to become a member of the Guild requires an initiate to drink from it while kneeling before crowned royals. This means they cannot initiate Guild members until the twins have an official coronation acknowledged by the stars.

Gabriel suffers painful, recurring visions of a massive wave that represents destruction, killing all his loved ones. He wakes in a remote cabin where Leon has been caring for him and insists on returning to Zodiac Academy, sensing a terrible event is imminent and revealing that his visions show they will lose the war if they fight Lionel now—their only hope lies with the Guild Stones changing fate.

After another agonizing vision of Geraldine’s death on a battlefield, Gabriel returns to the academy and arrives at a war council in The Orb. Geraldine presents wine for a toast. As everyone raises their glasses, Gabriel has a sudden vision of them all dying from the poisoned wine and screams a warning, seeing that Vard, Lionel’s Seer, created the undetectable poison for Lionel.

The council discusses gaining allies, but Gabriel foresees that the emperor of Voldrakia, the kingdom that neighbors Solaria, will refuse until the twins prove their power by claiming the throne. Gabriel is left with an inescapable sense of doom.

Max feels the compulsion of his Siren Song while in bed with Geraldine. She encourages him to fulfill the requirement of his Order, which demands that he call someone to him for a kiss. He releases his Siren Song, and Darius is drawn to him. As they kiss, Max’s power unexpectedly connects to a distant, agonizing psychic scream calling for help. Both feel the overwhelming summons, and Max is irresistibly pulled toward the source.

Darius shifts into his Dragon form and carries Max. They fly for hours, following the scream across the landscape. They discover Lionel’s army encampment—shockingly five times larger than estimated, with warriors stretching to the horizon. An enormous black Dragon ambushes them from the clouds, colliding with Darius and sending them plummeting.

Darius fights the black Dragon, later revealed to be Tharix (Darius’s half-brother, created by Lionel and Lavinia from shadow), while falling through the sky. They battle, and just as Tharix is about to fall, the psychic scream sounds again with tremendous force, draining all magic from the area. Darius is forced into Fae form and tumbles over the cliff. As he falls, a hand latches around his forearm. Looking up, Darius finds Tharix holding him. Tharix pulls Darius back onto the ledge and greets him as brother, expressing surprise that Darius is alive.

The wards protecting the academy fall, and screams erupt across campus. Gabriel shifts into his Harpy form and flies to find his wife Mindy and son Luca. At The Orb (the academy’s student union), a grey Dragon tears off the roof. Gabriel finds Mindy and uses earth magic against the grey Dragon. Gabriel’s friends Carson and Leon come to help and together, they kill the dragon.

After eliminating the immediate threats, Gabriel uses his power of Sight to locate Luca. He sees multiple visions of his son’s death. He discovers that Dante left Luca with Seth Capella when forced to fight Dragons. Gabriel’s visions show death closing in on his son, and he tells Mindy and Leon they must find Luca immediately.

Tharix heaves Darius onto the ledge. He is surprisingly calm and curious, asking about death and wanting to understand brotherhood. Darius denies their brotherhood. Max is trapped by Tharix’s shadow magic, a hundred blades of ice and iron pressed against his skin. Tharix offers a deal: If they surrender, he’ll spare Max, delivering them to Lionel instead of letting the army tear them apart. With no choice, Darius accepts.

Darius asks what Tharix is, and he replies that he was hoping Darius might tell him. Tharix opens a coil of shadows that tears a passage into the mountain, and the three begin their journey to face Lionel.

Seth hides in the dome beneath Aqua Lake, protecting Luca. Bodies of dead rebels fall through the lake. A blast of Lavinia’s magic cracks the dome, and water explodes into the space. Seth to the surface with Luca, using an air bubble.

Above ground, Lavinia hovers over the lake, fighting Darcy and Tory. Seth straps Luca to his chest with vines and makeshift metal armor. He decides to run for Terra House, where children and the vulnerable are sheltering, determined to get Luca to safety.

Tory and Darcy fight Lavinia in a fierce aerial battle over Aqua Lake. Lavinia wields immensely powerful magic, thanks to Lionel’s imprisoned star. Tory dives into the lake and sees Geraldine through a window in the Aqua House. She writes “war” on the glass. Geraldine salutes, acknowledging the command to coordinate the rebel army with Washer.

Darcy’s attack envelops Lavinia in flames, but Lavinia unleashes a massive shockwave of white light that shatters the fire and sends both twins crashing to the ground. The twins exchange words of love, shift back into Phoenix forms, and fly into the sky together, determined to kill the shadow queen.

Darius, Max, and Tharix travel beneath the mountain. Max is in agony, feeling the screams of the four tortured souls trapped within Tharix that give him life, thanks to Lionel’s magic. Tharix recites a prophecy line about himself, foretelling he will break the mold he was born in. Max confronts Tharix about the suffering souls, calling him unnatural. Tharix lunges at Max, but Darius intercepts. They fight briefly, and the tunnel trembles dangerously.

Max and Darius exchange silent signals, confirming readiness and that Max has something prepared. The tunnel ends at an enormous jade palace, Lionel’s stronghold. Below, they see the terrifying expanse of Lionel’s massive army—a host that will obliterate rebel forces.

Dante soars in his Dragon form, unleashing a devastating electrical storm that kills a yellow Dragon. Five Dragons attack him, but Xavier and his Pegasus herd intercept two. Dante fights and kills three Dragons, and one’s barbed tail hooks into Dante’s. Unable to free himself, Dante falls with the dead Dragon. Gabriel appears and cuts through the tail, freeing Dante. Gabriel tells him Luca is with Seth somewhere on campus. Dante flies back into the clouds, resolute.

Running through the woods toward Terra House with Luca strapped to his chest, Seth is ambushed by eight Nymphs. He fights and kills them, injuring himself. After healing himself, he continues running and encounters Orion, who uses Vampire speed to rush the boy to safety at Terra House with Leon and the other children. Orion returns, and Seth shifts into his white Werewolf form, and the two charge back into battle together, fighting side by side.