Henry finds Harlow stretching in her room and agrees to her request to go for a run, on the condition that she obeys him. Her bodyguard, Gaven, intends to join, but Harlow suggests he time their five-mile loops instead. Harlow is an exceptionally fast runner, and Henry struggles to keep pace, finding himself aroused by the chase. When she talks about running multiple loops, he realizes she is training to be able to run the 20 miles back to her home, Lunameade.

During the run, Harlow discovers the camouflaged entrance to the mountain caves where Henry’s people lived after the fort was attacked. She says Gaven learned of its location from a drunk huntsman. Inside, the memory of that time is painful for Henry. As they continue running through the fort, Harlow tells Henry that his aura is unique, since its dark, concentrated purple color balls up in the center. Henry holds his breath, fearful Harlow will find out more about his aura than he likes. On the lower levels, citizens glare at them.

When they finish, Henry’s friends Carter and Bryce are waiting with a message: There has been a breach at the North Hold gate in Lunameade. Harlow is distraught, as her sister lives there, and she begs Henry to let her go. Seeing an opportunity to earn her trust, Henry agrees.

Harlow and Henry arrive in Lunameade to find the North Hold Gate severely damaged. A large crowd has gathered to hear a speech from Rafe. Harlow spots her parents, and her brother Able on the steps behind him; Able is visibly enraged by Rafe’s performative grief. Harlow recognizes Rafe’s speech as a ploy to manipulate the public. When her own anger nearly triggers her poison magic, Henry calms her.

Rafe reports that several women from the pleasure block are missing, but his failure to mention Harlow’s sister, Aidia, gives Harlow some relief. She suspects evolved Drained, or “Breeders,” are responsible, and Henry agrees to have Carter and Bryce investigate. After the speech, Harlow’s mother Liza signals for them to meet at Carrenwell House.

Harlow asks Henry to go to Aidia’s home to check on her, inventing an errand for him so she can speak to her parents alone. At Carrenwell House, Henry tells Liza he will stay in Harlow’s room for the night, before leaving on his errand. Liza then instructs Harlow to prepare for a family dinner.

Harlow endures an interrogative dinner with her parents. Her brother Able arrives and makes crude comments about her wedding before revealing that the evolved Drained now take women for breeding. The casual manner in which he reveals the ghastly information sickens Harlow. She asks her family why the information was held from her, and Harrick snaps that Harlow will only be told what she needs to know. The argument escalates until Harrick confesses that the rumors about his family’s role in the attack are true. Ten years ago he saved Lunameade by using holy fire to divert a Drained horde toward Mountain Haven, causing the fort to fall. Able laughs hysterically at this self-serving admission until his bodyguard, Nick, sedates him.

After Able is removed, Harlow’s parents reveal their true agenda behind marrying off Harlow. Rafe is gaining too much political power and has demanded control of the northern city guard. They want Harlow to convince Henry that Rafe was responsible for the attack on Mountain Haven, using his malice-based magic as a plausible explanation for how he could have manipulated the Drained. They plan for Henry to make this accusation during the upcoming Dark Star Festival to ruin Rafe publicly. Harlow agrees, but only if they give her the key to a secret tunnel out of the city so she can finally escape with Aidia. Her father agrees to her terms.

Henry goes to North Hold, the home of Rafe and Aidia, but the butler, Paul, says Rafe is visiting prisoners. Paul praises Rafe’s generosity, but Henry recognizes it as a political maneuver. Paul suggests Henry might find Rafe later at a bar called the Living Nightmare. Henry waits at the bar for hours, but Rafe never appears. As Henry leaves through a back courtyard, Kellan Carrenwell and a squad of city guards confront him.

Kellan explains they received a tip about a secret rebel meeting at the bar. Henry realizes he was set up, likely by Rafe, to create conflict between his family and the Carrenwells. He feigns ignorance, claiming he was just having a drink after being spurned by Harlow’s family. Kellan seems to accept the explanation and lets him go, asking Henry to keep Harlow safe. As Henry walks away, he realizes he genuinely intends to.

Back in her room, Harlow is surprised by her sister, Aidia, who emerges from a secret passage in the closet. Aidia’s face is severely bruised from Rafe’s abuse. To avoid upsetting Aidia further, Harlow acts normally as they discuss Henry and the wedding. Harlow mentions that she has started sleepwalking again, something she used to do as a child. Before Aidia leaves, she teases Harlow about her new lingerie. The sight of her sister’s injuries leaves Harlow feeling restless and agitated. She changes into a scandalous red dress (her maneuver for attracting lecherous men) and slips out of the house through the secret passage, determined to see her friend and former lover, Bea.

Harlow goes to Guardian’s Crossing, which is owned by Bea. In the back room, Harlow explains to Bea that her parents have tasked her with turning Henry against Rafe, a mission that will earn her permanent freedom. She then asks about the women who went missing during the breach. Bea says that the rebel leader, Rochelli, is spreading a rumor that the Carrenwells are sacrificing women to the Drained as a tithe.

Bea points out a drunk man at the bar, Shane, who is spreading the rumor. Bea urges Harlow to take him upstairs for interrogation. In the room, Shane becomes aggressive, so Harlow knocks him unconscious and ties him to a chair. While waiting for him to wake, she returns to the bar. Bea soon informs her that Henry arrived moments after she went upstairs and followed her. Panicked, Harlow rushes back to the room, fearing Henry has killed her only lead.

Harlow finds Henry waiting in the room with a terrified but living Shane. Henry is furious about her revealing dress and her recklessness. They interrogate Shane, who confirms he works for the rebels but communicates with Rochelli only through anonymous letters. He claims to have stolen a note from another rebel detailing the tithe rumor. Harlow takes the note, but as she and Henry struggle over it, he accidentally drops it into the fire, destroying the evidence. Harlow suspects his clumsiness was intentional.

Enraged by Shane’s aggression against Harlow, Henry plays a game with the hapless man. He pulls Harlow onto his lap and begins a humiliating sexual performance for Shane, tearing her lingerie and forcing her to touch herself. He speaks derogatorily of Harlow, though Harlow knows this is a performance to get Shane to confess that he wanted to rape her. Once Henry has the confession, Harlow knows Henry will kill Shane. Harlow also cannot help getting aroused by Henrys touch, even during such a tense situation. Shane ultimately reveals his own violent intentions toward Harlow, justifying them with Harlow “asking for it” by dressing provocatively. Henry makes Harlow kill him with her poison. Afterward, they argue about the evening, and Henry’s anger gives way to concern when she flinches away from him, confirming his suspicion that she has been abused before. He apologizes for burning the note and leads her from the room.

The next morning, Harlow researches her family’s magical wells in the library, trying to understand her chronic pain and the Drained’s evolution. Kellan finds her and reveals he saw Henry at a bar known for rebel meetings, increasing Harlow’s suspicion. She shares her theory that something is contaminating the well water, causing both the madness in their family and the Drained’s recent evolution.

They find an old book with a map suggesting the well water flows from the mountains, through the city, and out into the Drained Wood. Harlow also finds a sketch of a painting called “Stellaria’s Deathless,” which Kellan says hangs near the family’s interrogation room, the Cove. Seeing the painting triggers Harlow’s traumatic memories of her father’s abuse. She tells Kellan the fort’s legend that the Drained evolved from the Deathless after drinking well water, strengthening her contamination theory.

Afterward, Gaven confronts Harlow, asking when she learned that Henry was immune to her poison. She admits she knew before the contract was signed. He warns her that he has a strange feeling about Henry just as Henry himself appears, creating a tense standoff.

During a post-wedding dinner party, Harlow is struck by one of her severe, debilitating attacks. The pain comes on swiftly, and she sees flashing halos around the lights. As she falters, Henry crosses the room, asks if she trusts him, and kisses her deeply in front of her stunned family. The kiss miraculously mutes the pain for a moment. Her family is shocked when Henry doesn’t die from her poison. He makes an excuse about being an eager newlywed and quickly carries her from the room.

In her bedroom, the agony returns. Though she tries to push him away, he stays to care for her, holding her hair as she vomits and getting her a pillowcase of ice. Overwhelmed by pain and the fresh disappointment that the Mountain Well didn’t cure her, Harlow breaks down, confessing she just wanted to be fixed. Henry comforts her, saying she doesn’t need fixing, and holds her until the worst of the pain subsides.

Henry watches Harlow sleep, still able to feel the remnants of her pain. When she wakes, she is irritable and angry to find him beside her. A note from Gaven is slipped under the door, and Harlow recognizes the handwriting as the same from the rebel letter Henry burned, making her suspect Gaven’s involvement with Rochelli. She tells Henry that Gaven is loyal to her father, admitting Gaven once failed to protect her from his abuse.

Henry insists they remain in Lunameade until her attack fully passes. He soothes her back to sleep just before Kellan arrives at the door. Kellan confronts Henry about kissing Harlow, demanding to know how he survived. After a tense exchange, Kellan warns Henry that he will retaliate fiercely if Harlow is hurt. To create a diversion and sow discord, Henry reveals a critical secret: Well water kills the Drained, and his family told Harrick Carrenwell this fact 10 years ago, just before the fort fell. Horrified by the implication that his father deliberately withheld this information, Kellan leaves in a fury.