The Night Prince

Aurora and Philip are shackled in a carriage with Alexander, who promises to kill their father and Philip. When Aurora spits in his face, Alexander orders Philip to restrain her if she acts out again. Aurora attacks with a letter opener Callum gave her, but Philip, under alpha command, slams her head against the carriage door, knocking her unconscious.

Aurora awakens alone in a prison cell at the Grey Keep. She discovers James imprisoned in the next cell, along with Ryan, who was caught after finding James, and Claire. Aurora and James argue about their past conflicts. He saw her alliance with both Callum and Blake as dangerous and ensured Callum read a book revealing that she and Blake are mates.

The torches suddenly dim as a hissing, shadowy presence fills the corridor. Aurora recognizes it from her dreams of Night’s prison. Claire identifies the presence as the Dark Beast, which Aurora realizes is Night’s prisoner. James confirms they have been brought to fight the creature.

Hours pass in their cells. Aurora hears her mother’s voice telling her to have courage. Hooded guards enter and remove all prisoners except Aurora, placing collars on the wolves and leading them away. Before leaving, James asks if Blake knows she is there. When she confirms, he promises to buy her time.

A guard with Night’s symbol tattooed on his wrist comes for Aurora and drags her to a dark amphitheater filled with cloaked, jeering figures. The captured wolves kneel in a circle, chained and beaten. Alexander sits on a stone throne with a battered Philip chained beside him. There is a trapdoor in the floor. Alexander orders Aurora be tied up and whipped; if she survives, she can meet his old friend.

The scene triggers flashbacks of Aurora being punished by a priest in the Church of Light and Sun, something she now knows was to keep her inner wolf from surfacing as a child. She is dragged forward and shackled. She resolves not to beg for mercy. Alexander tells her he is breaking her to free her power, just as her father broke him in a cell beneath the palace.

Desperate, Aurora claims she can speak to the God of Night on his behalf because she’s entered his prison in her dreams, and she knows Alexander is scared of Night’s wrath. Alexander rejects her bargain. James whispers encouragement, urging her to use her wolf.

When James starts a brawl as a diversion, Alexander halts it by holding a dagger to Claire’s throat, forcing James to submit. He reveals the trapdoor leads to a cell with the Dark Beast, Night’s creature mentioned by Lochlan’s beta, Kai. This frightens the wolves into submission.

The whipping begins. Aurora is overcome by pain and dissociates. When the whipping stops, Alexander is enraged that she has not broken and backhands her, though she doesn’t know what he wants her to do. Suddenly, an exit guard collapses, dead. Blake stands behind him, furious. He declares Aurora is his mate and demands Alexander release her.

Jack and Arran appear at other entrances, having killed guards. Blake throws a key to James. He hurls two daggers, severely wounding Alexander. His acolytes attack, and chaos erupts as the wolves free themselves. Blake fights through to Aurora, incapacitates Alexander, and tells Arran to watch him, warning that Alexander dying would put them all in danger.

Blake frees Aurora from the shackles. As he helps her toward an exit, the torches go out. A wounded Alexander crawls to the trapdoor and opens it, releasing a massive serpentine shadow creature that blocks the exits and begins devouring people. Blake tells Aurora she is the only one who can save them and must unleash her suppressed power. He says the Heart of the Moon is a person, not an object, and her abilities indicate it’s her. As the beast lunges for her, Aurora taps into her power.

Aurora experiences symbolic visions of breaking free from her past traumas—being a statue, being whipped in the church, and being a puppet in the throne room. Each time, she refuses to submit.

She enters a memory with her mother and her younger self by a lake. Her mother was from the Snowlands and given to Aurora’s father in an alliance against the Shadow Wolf who sought their bloodline. Their female bloodline’s power grows with each generation, and Aurora’s would be strong enough to either release or defeat the God of Night. Their bloodline descends from the goddess Ghealach and the Elderwolf, making Aurora the Heart of the Moon.

Her mother says she allowed Aurora’s father to poison her to protect her children, though she tried multiple times to run away. He threatened to kill them if she tried again. She urges Aurora to fight and reminds her there is always a choice. Aurora returns to the amphitheater and unleashes her suppressed power through a scream.

Aurora’s scream unleashes blinding moonlight that heals her wounds and burns the Dark Beast, melting its flesh and dissolving its shadow form. Threads of moonlight link Aurora to the wolves, allowing them to shift and kill the acolytes. The beast shrieks a warning that someone is coming before it is destroyed.

In the aftermath, James kneels before Aurora, addressing her by the title Cridche na Ghealach, and the surviving wolves follow suit. Blake stands bloodied near the throne. Alexander suddenly appears behind him and slits his throat. Arran immediately decapitates Alexander. As Blake dies, Aurora feels their bond fraying. As the Heart of the Moon, she could sever it to save herself but chooses not to.

She enters their shared consciousness in the memory of Blake thrown into a well during a storm. A void opens beneath him; if he falls, the bond will break, and he’ll die. Aurora refuses to let him go and successfully convinces him to climb up to her. She mends and strengthens the bond, pulling him back from death.

They return to their bodies. Blake thanks her, pulling her into an embrace before she faints. As Blake carries her away, half-conscious, she overhears James ask why Blake is her mate. Blake claims not to know, but Aurora senses he is lying.

Aurora awakens the next day. Philip informs her Blake has imprisoned the surviving wolves, forcing them to swear silence about Aurora’s identity or die. He apologizes for hurting her. He explains he was surprised by Alexander’s command because he believed he was claimed by the other wolf who bit him, Fenrir, an evil alpha who worships Night and may attack other wolf rulers. With Alexander dead, Philip feels Fenrir’s claim again, so he must return to the Snowlands to protect Ingrid. Philip leaves.

Aurora ventures outside and sees the amphitheater being burned. She encounters James and Claire, who confirm they are burning the bodies at Blake’s insistence. James tells her she has nothing to fear from him and that he will keep her secret. He suggests a marriage alliance with Callum is sensible for the kingdoms. Aurora refuses to be a pawn, but she also would bring no political power without her father’s approval. She will take her father’s throne first and approach Callum as a queen. James offers to help her kill her father. Blake appears and asks if she would like his help.

Left alone with Blake, Aurora feels awkward tension. He explains he burned the amphitheater because Night could possess the dead acolytes who bore his mark. When she expresses fear of being treated as a weapon, he reassures her that she is a force of nature, not a weapon.

She asks about his relationship with Alexander. He, Jack, Arran were tortured alongside each other. He guessed his mate bond with Aurora based on watching Arran and his mate Fara be experimented on in the dungeon and sharing their life force. He saved her life because he did not want her to die, not to trick her, and he did not intend for the powerful bond to form. When he asks why she did not break the bond, she admits he is her friend.

Later, while resting, Aurora is pulled into one of Blake’s dreams in Night’s prison, witnessing a memory of a younger Blake kneeling before the God of Night. He commands Blake to find the Heart of the Moon in exchange for power. Night senses her presence, and Blake pursues her. Aurora leaves the dream.

Aurora wakes up, terrified. Blake awakens and realizes she knows. He intentionally shows her Night’s symbol burned into his ankle, marking him as one of Night’s prisoners. Aurora tries to run, but he pins her to the bed, using a powerful version of the Aithne to compel her to listen. She wants to hear his explanation, so she pretends to submit.

He reveals he is not an acolyte but one of Night’s prisoners. His soul belongs to Night. He died in the dungeon beneath the palace after making a bargain with Night for the power to escape and free the others. Night claimed his soul and tormented him until Blake promised to find the Heart of the Moon in exchange for being returned to life. As he escaped, the goddess Ghealach whispered that the Heart of the Moon would be his salvation.

He did not know it was Aurora when he made the deal. He cannot let her go now because giving her to Night would mean her torture and death. He warns that because Alexander’s soul belongs to Night, his death allowed him to tell Night where she is, and Night’s army is coming soon.

He proposes they flee together to draw Night’s forces away from the others. He offers to help her take her father’s throne and get revenge in exchange for what he wants most. She assumes he means his freedom. He does not clarify. Seeing no other choice, Aurora takes his outstretched hand.