Seth fights in Wolf form alongside his pack. A new enemy legion appears with large mounted guns. Guttural roars sound, and a rift tears open in the mountain, releasing horrifying monsters—beetle-like and crocodile-headed creatures. The monsters kill Seth’s pack, including his parents. Believing he is dying, Seth’s final thoughts are of Caleb and the Heirs.

Tory engages an eight-legged monster whose acidic blood burns her, then a flying creature injects her with a paralyzing toxin and drops her. She uses an Oscura ring to release antivenom, heals herself, and finds a barely alive Seth nearby. As she heals him, she realizes that the battle has turned against them.

Darius and Xavier infiltrate a war machine and kill the crew with Dragon fire. The magical bomb they were preparing drops, and they leap from the cannon opening as the machine explodes. Tharix, in Dragon form, collides with them, rips Darius from Xavier’s back, and throws him onto a rocky mountaintop.

Orion and Caleb try to reach Lavinia. A Caucasian Eagle snatches Caleb away. Out of magic, Orion is struck by an arrow and trampled by Centaurs, leaving him paralyzed. Fueled by his promise to Darcy, he drags his broken body across the mud in search of blood to power up his magic.

Tharix shifts to Fae form and tells Darius he has not taken a side. Darius notices the darkness is gone from Tharix, who explains that Lavinia no longer controls him, and The Ferryman took the souls bound to him. When Darius reveals his plan to kill their father, Tharix agrees. He shifts to Dragon form and flies Darius toward the Jade Castle.

The eagle carries Caleb into storm clouds. He kills it with fire and plummets. He collides with Dante’s wing, and Dante catches him. Caleb heals them both and directs Dante toward Orion.

Geraldine and the Starfall Legion fight on the front lines. Shifters with mounted guns appear, and their blasts shatter the legion’s shield, mortally wounding her. As she dies, The Veil thins and her deceased parents appear. Max uses a Siren song to pull her soul back and heal her wounds. Fully healed, she leads her legion forward.

Washer and Elaine see a war machine aiming at Darcy. Elaine shifts to Manticore form, and they charge. A Nymph kills Elaine. Washer climbs to the cannon room where 10 Fae prepare to fire at Darcy. He shifts to Siren form and overwhelms them with lust. Unable to move the cannon, he fills its barrel with ice and plugs it with his body as it fires. The explosion kills him and all the Fae.

Tory flies to a mountain peak where Gabriel waits with 5,000 clay soldiers. She releases the four sayer dragons to join the battle, then begins a ritual to summon the dead. Gabriel and Leon burn parchments with dead people’s names. The ritual begins to fail, causing Tory to collapse.

While flying on Tharix, Darius feels Tory’s life fading. Refusing to let Tory die, Darius channels all his power into their bond, offering his life force to save her.

Darius’s intervention saves Tory and completes the ritual. Her father Hail pulls her to her feet, and her mother Merissa appears beside him, each inhabiting a clay body. The Ferryman states the souls can remain until battle’s end. More souls inhabit the clay bodies, including Orion’s father Azriel, Washer, Principal Nova, and others. Gabriel reunites with his biological father, Marcel. Hail reveals that Darius helped open the way. Tory sees Milton, Seth’s pack, Justin, and Diego among the dead. She leads the army down the mountain.

Diego runs with the army of the dead in his clay body, thrilled to be back. He reflects that his soul found peace once the shadows were cleansed and Nymph souls released. The army crashes into Lionel’s forces.

Caleb and Dante defeat two Dragons and descend onto the battlefield. A sayer dragon paralyzes the Griffins attacking Sofia. Caleb finds and heals Orion. Caleb and Orion share blood again, vowing to stop after today. They see Darcy knocked down near Lavinia, and Seth charging a monster. They split up—Orion to Darcy, Caleb to Seth—and say goodbye.

Darcy defeats a Dragon. Orion arrives, and they fight the Nymphs together. A sayer dragon lands on an enemy Nymph’s head, causing it to attack its allies. Darcy climbs onto Shadow’s back and sends Orion ahead to destroy Lavinia’s defenses. They create a path of destruction toward Lavinia.

Xavier sends a signal to his friends. Hadley, Grayson, and Athena arrive with a defuser. At the Jade Castle, they find Ellis Rigel escaping; she gives Xavier Lionel’s stolen stardust stash and vows to help. The five power-share into the defuser, sending a pulse across the battlefield that causes all mounted guns to explode, destroying them and their wearers. Xavier flies to rejoin the fight.

The Starfall Legion advances toward the Jade Castle. Mildred Canopus attacks in Dragon form. Geraldine kills her and leaps off before impact. Max catches her. Geraldine sees their forces advancing but notes Lavinia’s shadows on the western flank, realizing the war is far from over.