Kaden is confused by Lia’s politeness despite his kidnapping her. He knows he must remain loyal to Venda, because doing so is what keeps him alive. His plan to lie to the Komizar, who doesn’t even believe in magic, is a precarious one, but he hopes that the Komizar will see use in Lia’s magic as a means of controlling his people.

The brigade arrives at a vagabond camp and Lia is overtaken by the colors and beauty of the place. Though it is only a temporary camp, it is clear that a great deal of work went into setting it up. Lia meets women who wash her hair and feed her. Afterward, one of them tells Lia she looks like a member of the “Tribe of Gaudrel,” and Lia recalls the name from the text she stole, The Last Testaments of Gaudrel (361).

Lia meets an elderly woman named Dihara who challenges her ideas about her gift. Dihara explains that it is not rare and comes in infinite forms. She points to the young boy Eben, who seems to have a way with wolves. Lia is skeptical; she still believes it is a sacred gift passed down through sacred blood. The woman tells her to come back the next day so they can talk more. Kaden buys a night in a tent so that Lia can sleep in a real bed, and she’s surprised by his kindness.

That night, however, he comes in unannounced and inebriated, and tries to touch and kiss her. Lia manages to reason with him and convinces him to fall asleep nearby. Her thoughts always return to Rafe, though she now believes he could never find her. She turns her focus to the present and, using a guide from Dihara, tries to translate some of the text from Gaudrel. She manages to discern a story told by a woman to a hungry child about a princess who conquered a storm. Lia does not yet understand the story’s significance.

Lia watches Dihara for a long while before finally approaching her to talk the following morning. Dihara takes her out to the meadow and tells her what she knows of the gift. She explains that the universe is knowing, and everything within it is connected. A person can open themselves up to that connection, which is known as the gift. Dihara teaches Lia to quiet her mind and open herself up to the underlying currents of the world. She challenges Lia to consider whether a gift this important would choose its recipients based on birth order. As Lia sits and attempts to meditate, she realizes her own mother is the one who trained her not to use her gift.

Kaden wakes up hungover and embarrassed, and goes to find Lia to apologize. She assures him that he did nothing too offensive and gives him some special herbs to help with his headache. Beyond that, she does not entertain his need for validation or comfort.

Rafe sits with the other men, who all want to know more about Lia. Their questions are vulgar at first, and Rafe reminds them that she may one day be their queen. Rafe tells the men about how Lia is not like other royalty, because she is humble, makes an honest living, and dresses how she pleases. They question why Kaden hasn’t just killed Lia already. Rafe suspects that it might be because Kaden has feelings for her, but does not voice his suspicions aloud.

Lia starts scouting for weapons and a horse to make her escape. Kaden claims to be unable to read, which makes Lia suspicious, as she swears she saw him read several times in Terravin. She thinks about how Kaden feels about her, how his feelings likely began when she tended to his injured shoulder. She wonders if he has ever known tenderness before. Suddenly, a horse panics nearby and Kaden pulls Lia out of the way. He lands on top of her, and they kiss.

Lia questions why she kissed Kaden. She believes it was just a fleeting fantasy. That night, she tells everyone the story of Morrighan, the princess who could command storms and commune with the gods. Afterward, Lia finds out that one of the men in Kaden’s brigade, Malich, killed Walther’s wife. She attacks him viciously. Kaden and some other men have to pull the two apart. Kaden tries to tell Lia that death is just a part of war, but she refuses to hear the excuse. She asks Kaden how many people he’s killed, and he only answers “too many.” Lia is tended by Dihara, who tells her she is part of a greater story beyond her own suffering.

Lia has horrible nightmares of Rafe and the Venda men, and wakes feeling off kilter. Kaden tells her they are leaving unexpectedly, and takes the bag of food she was preparing for her escape. The brigade leaves and heads out into the wastelands, past a place known to never get cold since the devastation occurred. Lia is surprised to see deer and the ruins of what looks like an old town. It makes her think of the gods and how many worlds they have created and abandoned. That night after setting up camp, Lia thinks about Kaden and wonders again how he feels about killing so many innocent people. She recalls the first time she witnessed an execution. Lia bathes in the water nearby, and is soon approached by Malich, who attempts to rape her. Lia defends herself by biting his lip, and one of the other men shouts at Malich to back away. Lia realizes now more than ever that she must find a way to escape.

Lia asks Kaden when he decided not to kill her, hoping that he’ll say it was when they first bonded. Instead, Kaden admits that it was the night before they left, and that he stood over her with a knife as she slept. Until that moment, he had intended to fulfill his promise.

Lia gets a sudden sense of knowing that the road ahead is dangerous. She tries to warn the others, but they ignore her and press on. Minutes later, a stampede of bison becomes visible in the distance, and Lia is a few paces behind the others. She takes advantage of the moment to escape. She charges with her horse in the opposite direction and into the woods, knowing she is likely to be pursued closely.

Kaden is certain that Lia escaped into the woods, and plans to go around them to find her on the other side. He knows there are dangerous beasts that live within the forests which Lia is unaware of.

Without any food, Lia forces herself to eat grubs that she finds. She makes a small fire concealed by some trees and tries to distract herself by reading the Venda text. She looks at it and finds that suddenly it all makes sense, as though her gift is allowing her to understand. The verses detail a calamity, an evil “Dragon,” and a princess named Jezelia who would be stronger than it all. Lia is shocked to see her own name in the text, which was apparently not found by the Scholar until she was twelve. It is all too much to grasp at once, and she tries to go to sleep.

Pauline tries to believe that Lia’s father would care enough about her to want to help. She sets off with Gwyneth to go to Civica and ask for his support. Pauline has been having nightmares of Lia disappearing, and knows that with the Venda people she isn’t safe. To Pauline’s surprise, Gwyneth suggests asking the Chancellor for help instead.

Rafe’s troops encounter an organized brigade of Venda people much larger than usual. One of Rafe’s men is shot in the face and has to be treated with alcohol to save his life. Rafe now knows that Kaden is a member of the Venda and wants more than ever to find Lia.

Lia awakes to the sight of several large monkeys surrounding her and ready to attack. They are only broken up by an approaching tiger, and Lia somehow manages to convince it to leave. She bolts on her horse and makes her way to a clifftop where she sees several brigades. One appears to be her brother’s. She’s filled with relief until she sees a massive group of Venda men approaching them. Kaden appears and snatches Lia, and she has to watch as her brother and his men are massacred. Afterward, she insists on giving him a proper burial; she sings a song of prayer from deep within herself and over his body before starting to dig.

Kaden and the others watch Lia dig in astonishment. She buries her brother first, and then starts burying the other soldiers in their own graves. She struggles with the weight of each body but manages the task, and eventually Kaden and one other man start digging holes in order to help her. They are aware that if they bury the enemy, they will be considered traitors, so they can do nothing more than dig.

Lia walks into the water to wash off the blood of her brother and the other soldiers. She can no longer see Kaden the same way she once had. She starts to hear a voice, telling her it will find her. Meanwhile, the horse of the youngest brigade member, Eben, can no longer keep up with its injury.

As they approach Venda, Lia prepares herself by brushing her hair. Eben’s horse can no longer walk and one of the men orders Eben to kill it. Lia cannot imagine making a child kill its own horse, so she insists on doing it for him, despite protests from the others. For the rest of the journey, Lia thinks of all those needlessly killed so far, and begins to accept her true identity as Princess Arabella of Morrighan. She thinks of the name Jezelia from the text, realizing it is her destiny to assume that role. She decides to take it upon herself to kill the Komizar.

Rafe and his men watch from afar, and Rafe is immediately concerned by how Lia is being treated. He decides that however great the risk, he and his men will find a way to get her back.

When they finally reach the city of Venda, Lia is overcome by how foreboding and darkness permeate it. Kaden promises to build her a life in Venda, but it isn’t at all what she wants. The brigade stops at the river that surrounds the city and a massive bridge is pulled out of the water. On the other side, a soldier tosses a man to the ground and Lia realizes it is Rafe. She embraces and kisses him while wondering how he managed to get there before her.

Rafe temporarily avoids a death order by claiming to have a message for the Komizar. Lia looks into his eyes, knowing their love was strong enough to bring them together once more.