Lilith is shocked to learn the plague was the result of a deal her father made with Vitarus. She feels betrayed that her father would choose this fate for the town. Vitarus taunts her with the revelation, explaining that her father made the deal in exchange for fertile soil and magical roses. Lilith remembers her father died before the roses grew, the first victim of the illness. She crushes a rose in her hand and feels her life’s work has been for nothing because the god might eradicate everyone she sought to save.

As Vitarus cradles her face with his hands of life and death, Lilith sees Vale flying toward her. Knowing a vampire’s presence would enrage Vitarus, she desperately proposes a bargain: She will return everything Vitarus gave her father if he will take back the plague. Intrigued, Vitarus agrees.

Lilith realizes her father’s deal was driven by his despair over the barren land and her impending death, and she deduces that her unnaturally prolonged life was part of the bargain. Vale lands behind Vitarus, holding a single rose, but she begins the exchange. She places soil into the god’s hands, then a flower from the rosebushes. Finally, she places her own hand atop them, giving Vitarus herself.

Vitarus kisses her fiercely, first breathing life into her, then inhaling it back. Her father’s deal staved off her illness’s progression for 15 years, and the full force of the disease crashes into her at once. Vitarus confirms that their deal is complete and vanishes. Lilith collapses onto the now-barren soil.

Death grips Lilith, and she finds herself in a liminal space she describes as a field of blackened flowers. In the physical world, she briefly sees Mina crying over her. Lilith wants to voice her love for her sister but is unable to speak. A personification of death tells her that she seems sad to go, and she realizes it’s true.

Lilith opens her eyes to see Vale leaning over her and gripping her hand. The scorched rose clasped between them is withering along with her. Vale asks if she wants to live, and she understands he is offering to Turn her into a vampire. Torn between Vale and death, she forces her eyes open and chokes out a yes.

She feels a sharp pain at her throat and is overwhelmed by the scent of dead roses. Vale feeds her his blood. In the death-space, she tells death she needs to stay, pulls her hand from its grasp, and turns away from the field of flowers. She takes a great gasp of air in the physical world and finds herself cradled in Vale’s arms. He has tears in his eyes and blood on his lips. Lilith says she wants to stay, and Vale whispers that he knows before kissing her as she loses consciousness.

Lilith is consumed by dreams of her parents, Mina, her work, and Vale. She experiences flashes of the past as well as the future. She wonders if she’s alive or dead and hears Vale say that she’s somewhere in between.

Lilith awakens weeks after being Turned. Her senses are painfully heightened, and her body feels foreign to her. Vale is by her side, holding her hand. He implies she has woken before, but this is the first time she’s been lucid. She confirms she remembers making the choice to be Turned. Vale gives her a cup of his blood, which she drinks greedily.

She learns they are on the coast of Pikov, far from her home continent of Dhera. Vale looks weary and admits he was not sure she would survive the Turning, as most do not. The reality of her new existence as a vampire sinks in. Vale warns her the transition will be difficult but promises to help. When he asks if she regrets her choice, she says no. Lilith feels awed by the prospect of having time to learn and see the world.

Vale explains why he returned for her even though she told him to leave. While preparing to depart, he held one of the roses and felt it begin to wither. Holding the god-touched flower made him realize that Lilith was also god-touched, and he knew that leaving her would be a mistake.

Lilith asks about Adcova, and Vale tells her the plague is gone. Her deal with Vitarus stopped new cases while her cure healed the existing ones. Lilith feels overwhelmed by the news that she saved her town. Mina enters the room, looking healthy and vibrant. Lilith and Mina share an emotional reunion and find a mutual understanding they previously lacked.

Later, Mina assures Lilith she could never hate her for becoming a vampire and says Lilith now looks more like her true self. Mina encourages Lilith to go with Vale to Obitraes and enjoy life now that she’s free from her illness. Lilith expresses that she never wanted to leave Mina, either through emotional distance or through death, and Mina assures her she always knew this.

Lilith’s strength returns slowly over the following week. Vale warns her that full recovery will take months, but she already feels better than she has most of her human life. Mina departs for Adcova after a bittersweet farewell.

That night, Vale visits Lilith in her room, and they are both aware of their new privacy. To fulfill her promise, Lilith gives Vale the sixth and final rose, which is now withered and crumbling. Vale remarks that their deal is fulfilled. Lilith initiates a kiss that quickly becomes passionate as they reacquaint themselves through their heightened senses.

Vale pulls back to officially ask Lilith to accompany him to Obitraes and the House of Night. She immediately says yes. He warns her that Obitraes is a nation at war and he doesn’t know what they will be returning to. Unafraid, Lilith counters that she isn’t afraid of the unknown.

Vale calls her a “nosy mouse,” and they embrace. The withered rose petals turn to dust around them, and Lilith reflects that she and Vale exist between life and death and are “everything [they] were ever meant to be” (154).