Tale of the Heart Queen

Lor and Nadir prepare to leave the inn. As they have no money, Nadir promises the innkeeper she will be compensated later. In the street, they decide to travel on foot to Aphelion to avoid being detected by Zerra. They are joyfully reunited with their friends: Lor’s siblings, Willow and Tristan, and Nadir’s sister and friend, Amya and Mael. Their friends explain the chaotic political situation in Aphelion.

Mael gives Nadir a sack of coins, and Nadir returns to the inn to overpay the stunned innkeeper. Just as he finishes, the village is rocked by explosions as fireballs rain from the sky. Realizing Zerra is attacking, Lor and Nadir decide to draw her fire away from the others. They instruct their friends to take cover and meet them later at the town gate. The two then run toward the forest as Zerra’s fiery assault continues.

In the Sun Palace in Aphelion, Gabriel drinks heavily on a balcony, overwhelmed by the responsibility of running the kingdom. Hylene comforts him, and a mutual attraction sparks between them. Just as she straddles his lap, a guard interrupts, reporting that low fae protestors, led by a rebel named Erevan, have breached the palace walls.

In the courtyard, Erevan demands justice and an audience with the true king, Tyr. Gabriel explains that Tyr is in no condition to meet them. The protest escalates into a riot, and a low fae elf is trampled to death. Horrified, Gabriel confronts Erevan, who finally disperses the crowd but warns that their demands cannot be ignored for much longer.

Soon after, Lor, Nadir, and their friends arrive at the palace. In the king’s study, they recount their recent experiences to Gabriel, Hylene, and the frail King Tyr. Lor reveals she has several of the magical arks. When they realize they need the ark of Aphelion, Tyr, the only one who knows its location, reveals he can get it.

In the king’s study, Tyr leads the group to the ark of Aphelion, which is encased in glass. Gabriel notes it is the object used to create the warders; Tyr confirms that the Mirror explained the process when he ascended. He cuts his palm to open the blood-keyed case. Before giving the ark to Lor, Tyr declares he must first use it to free the warders from their magical bond, expressing deep regret for letting the tradition continue, which enabled his brother Atlas’s tyranny. Overwhelmed, Gabriel leaves the room.

Lor follows him to an aviary, where he is sending a message to his brothers, who are hunting Atlas. They share a moment of understanding, and Gabriel admits his past hostility toward her was driven by his fear for Tyr, with whom he was once in love. He sends a dove with a message for his brothers, telling them they will soon be free.

Prince Rion receives a letter informing him of the death of Rachel, the woman he loved but abandoned to secure his crown. Devastated, he gets drunk. The sound of his children, Nadir and Amya, playing happily enrages him. He tries to take Amya from Nadir, but the toddler screams in terror.

When his wife, Meora, looks on with what he perceives as judgment, Rion snaps. He drags her to her apartments, confines her to her rooms indefinitely, and threatens Nadir to ensure he doesn’t interfere. As he stalks away, he passes Nadir holding a crying Amya. He sees the hatred in his children’s eyes but feels no remorse.

In the Sun Palace, Tristan reveals he has the Heart Crown, which he believes guided him and the others to Lor. Sensing the Crown is now “awake” due to her fully active magic, Lor places it on her head. She’s transported to a celestial garden of roses where she has an emotional reunion with her deceased mother, who was granted passage to the Evanescence with Lor’s father after their deaths. She explains she’s been sent by Amara, an ancestral Heart Queen, with a message and a warning. She warns that Zerra knows the Empyrium wants Lor to replace her and will try to kill her. To survive, Lor must kill Zerra first by destroying the magical arks. However, to wield enough power to destroy the final ark—the ark of Heart—Lor must first complete her mating bond with Nadir.

Her mother also warns that Lor will be vulnerable to Zerra’s sight when near an Artefact unless shielded by a large quantity of virulence, and that interacting with the surface weakens Zerra significantly, making swift action essential. Her mother confirms Lor is the only one who can save Heart and she must find a way to avoid becoming Zerra’s replacement. Her mother disappears, and Lor returns to her friends, telling them what she has just seen.

Lor explains her mother’s message to the group: They must find and destroy all the arks, and she and Nadir must bond to destroy the ark of Heart. Their bonding will be dangerous—as two Primaries, their combined power could be catastrophic, just as it was for Lor’s grandparents. The only person who claims to know how to perform the bonding safely is Cloris. Amya reveals she has been having Cloris watched.

The group forms a plan. First, Lor and Nadir will visit Cloris to learn how to bond safely. Then, they will summon the other rulers of Ouranos to convince them to destroy their respective arks. Lor insists the meeting must take place in the Queendom of Heart so the rulers can witness the return of its magic. Nadir agrees to contact Etienne to arrange the meeting for one week’s time.

A violent earthquake wakes Lor and Nadir. From their window in the Sun Palace, they watch in horror as a section of Aphelion collapses into the sea, followed by a second quake that opens a massive chasm, swallowing dozens of buildings. They rush outside to find Gabriel organizing a rescue effort.

Lor and Tristan offer their healing magic, and Gabriel accepts. They set up a large infirmary tent in the city and work for hours treating the injured. Lor is surprised to find the people of Aphelion are grateful for the help of Heart’s descendants. She is briefly reunited with her friends from the Trials, Halo and Marici, who arrive to volunteer.

Later, a shaken Gabriel confirms the quake is a result of the magical imbalance Lor described. He reports the death toll is over 500, with more than 1,000 injured. In a moment of sincerity, he thanks Lor for helping his city, despite how its rulers had treated her.

The next day, Lor, Nadir, and their friends meet with Gabriel and Erevan to discuss destroying the ark of Aphelion. Gabriel is concerned that King Tyr’s magic may be too weak after years of being suppressed by arcturite cuffs. They will need the help of Aphelion’s Primary.

Lor correctly guesses that Erevan is the Primary. He confirms it, but states he swore an oath not to use his magic until the low fae have their rights restored. Tyr arrives and says he will attempt to destroy the ark himself. He refers to Erevan as the “soon-to-be king” (328), implying he plans to descend into the Evanescence—a form of death for a king—so Erevan can ascend. Erevan firmly rejects this.

A messenger reports that Gabriel’s brothers are closing in on the false king, Atlas. Before leaving Aphelion, Lor asks Tyr if she can borrow the ark for an errand.

Nadir and Lor visit Cloris, using the ark of Aphelion as a bargaining chip to learn how two Primaries can safely bond. After some negotiation, Cloris reveals the ritual requires both of their Artefacts, lines from a rare text called the Book of Night, and a High Priestess—noting that Serce made the mistake of trying to perform the bonding herself. Cloris offers to perform the ceremony herself in exchange for the ark of Heart. She then adds the final, critical requirement: one of them must renounce their role as Primary. She scoffs that it will have to be Lor as she hasn’t “met many men who’d give up their power for a woman” (337). 

Nadir immediately agrees to give up his role as Primary for Lor, a reaction that surprises Cloris. She says the renunciation must be done by asking the Torch during the bonding ceremony. Having gotten the information, Lor holds out the ark. When Cloris reaches for it, Lor keeps hold of it and unleashes a powerful bolt of lightning, severely burning Cloris and destroying her study. Lor tells the defeated priestess this is revenge for a lifetime of manipulation and everything she and her siblings suffered in Nostraza. She warns Cloris to stay away from her family forever, then leaves with Nadir, taking the ark of Aphelion with her.

While Gabriel and Hylene share an intimate moment on a palace balcony, a soldier announces the warders have returned with the captive former king, Atlas. In the courtyard, Gabriel finds a furious mob demanding Atlas’s execution. Atlas is on his knees, bound by arcturite cuffs. Erevan arrives at Gabriel’s side and proposes releasing Atlas to the crowd for justice.

Enraged, Atlas lunges at Erevan, accusing him of treason and of always wanting the crown. In his fury, Atlas screams that the Mirror chose Erevan to be the true king, revealing the secret to the entire court. Gabriel separates them and orders Atlas to the dungeon. As he is dragged away, Atlas pleads for his life, but Gabriel is unmoved.

Gabriel allows Lor to confront Atlas in the dungeon. When she asks why he usurped the throne, Atlas claims he was “destined for more” (351). He reveals Cloris promised him a magical object—the ark—that would reverse the Mirror’s decision and allow him to bond with Lor, since he needed everyone to see the Mirror choose her. Lor informs him that Cloris was using him to get the ark for the goddess Zerra.

Atlas questions Gabriel about his escape and the murder of two warders, but Atlas only hints that he still has allies. Deciding she no longer needs her anger, Lor forgives Atlas for what he did to her. Gabriel formally sentences Atlas to death for treason and the murder of the warders. Gabriel walks away from his former friend for the last time as Atlas screams after him.

The group prepares to leave Aphelion for the Queendom of Heart. To protect them from Zerra’s sight, Etienne has taken the Heart Crown to a secure location. Nadir gifts Lor a dagger with a heart-shaped stone in its hilt. They share goodbyes with Gabriel and Tyr, who promises to destroy the ark of Aphelion once his warders are formally freed.

Etienne transports them to Heart, where he leads them to the site of the upcoming summit—a secluded manor owned by a merchant named Lord Maida. Inside, they are greeted by Rhiannon. Lor’s room overlooks the distant Heart Castle, and she immediately asks to visit it with her siblings. Nadir agrees, sending Mael and Etienne ahead to ensure it is safe.

Lor leads Willow and Tristan through the ruins of Heart’s capital city to their ancestral castle. Inside, they view the portraits of their grandparents, Serce and Wolf. While Willow is moved, Tristan becomes enraged.

In the throne room, Tristan’s anger erupts. He condemns their parents for keeping secrets and their grandparents for the selfish actions that led to their family’s suffering, their years of imprisonment in Nostraza, and Lor’s current burdens. As Willow and Lor embrace him, the magic of Heart responds to their combined emotion. Vines sprout from the ground, covering the entire room before blooming into a fabric of red roses.

A single vine wraps around Willow’s arm, and a bolt of red lightning strikes her hand from the sky, leaving her unharmed. Nadir and Amya rush in, alerted by the magic. Willow lowers her hand in wonder.

Everyone is overjoyed when, at Amya’s prompting, Willow concentrates and produces crimson whorls of magic that form into floating roses. Amya briefly wonders if Willow could become the Primary instead of Lor but quickly apologizes, realizing this would mean Lor would have to ascend to the Evanescence. Willow firmly rejects the idea, stating that Lor is the true Primary and they will not lose her.

After Lor and Tristan share a moment of mutual understanding about his earlier outburst, the group returns to the manor. Rhiannon informs them that the other rulers of Ouranos are arriving and will all be present by morning. Lor voices her fear that some of the rulers might try to kill her, but Nadir vows that they will have to get through him first.