From Henry’s perspective, Harlow’s confession contextualizes all of her behavior, from her violent vigilantism to her hatred of her parents. He is filled with rage toward Rafe. Harlow worries that the city’s magical well has driven her mad, causing her to hallucinate Aidia. Henry reassures her that grief can cause such visions. When she asks again about his experience with death, he explains that he is immune to any magic that has killed him before, revealing that Carter once compelled him to kill himself as part of a plan.

They retreat to her father’s study, where Henry leads Harlow to a horrifying realization: Gaven was immune to compulsion magic, meaning he must have let Aidia’s murder happen on her parents’ orders. Enraged, Harlow destroys the study with a fire poker. As she confronts Henry in her fury, he is suddenly able to see color for the first time in 10 years, beginning with her violet eyes. Stunned, he realizes he is in love with her. They kiss, but footsteps in the hall force them to stop. Harlow convinces a reluctant Henry to escape through a window while she remains to confront her parents.

Harlow dines with Harrick and Liza, claiming she has invited Kellan to join them. She confronts her father, who admits he has already made plans for her to marry Stefan after she kills Henry. When Harlow presses her parents about her childhood abuse, Liza dismisses her pain as Harlow being overly “sensitive.” An incredulous Harlow reminds Liza that she is not sensitive or dramatic, but was beaten by their father every day as part of their magical training while Liza looked away. Harrick brusquely dismisses the suggestions, claiming he is sorry for “disciplining” her, but it was necessary to bring out her best. Harlow realizes her parents will never consider their children human.

Harlow reveals she knows Henry is Deathless and that her father sacrificed Mountain Haven to the Breeders. As her parents try to react, they find themselves paralyzed. Harlow reveals she poisoned their soup with a paralytic and is using a magical item to suppress their powers. Just as they realize they are helpless, Kellan arrives.

With Kellan present, Harlow forces her parents to admit they allowed Rafe to attack her and Aidia as a “warning.” At Harlow’s request, Kellan uses his compulsion magic to make their parents whip and torture each other with their own magic, forcing them to experience the abuse they inflicted on their children.

Afterward, Harlow kills her father with a poison touch, then does the same to her mother. She takes the key to a secret tunnel from her father’s neck. Kellan then reveals that their siblings Able and Electra also knew about Rafe’s crime and helped cover it up. He admits his wife, Libby, had a vague premonition of the event but that he arrived too late to stop it. Unsure if she can forgive him, Harlow leaves him to wonder if she poisoned his soup as well.

Back at the boarding house, Harlow feels only sorrow now that her quest for revenge is complete. Henry arrives and apologizes for misjudging her. They bond over their shared grief of losing a sister, and their conversation leads to a night of tender, passionate sex. Harlow is terrified by her growing love for Henry, seeing it as a weakness.

Afterward, she confesses that she killed her parents, which relieves Henry. She also explains the existence of a secret tunnel out of the city, detailing the complex magical security her father created to control it, which requires the participation of several of her siblings. Aidia could have used the tunnel to escape Rafe, but her father never let her. Henry tells Harlow that Harrick was much worse than he thought. He wishes it was he himself who had killed Harrick. Henry asks her to stay with him not as a political obligation but by choice. Forgetting her fear, Harlow agrees.

The next morning, Harlow wakes beside Henry, staring at him fondly. This is when she notices his magical aura is a mix of its usual purple and a new burnt orange. She realizes in horror that Henry is twice-blessed and possesses a blessing from Polm, the Divine of Malice, which allows him to manipulate emotions (like Rafe). This power explains his intuitive knowledge of his sister’s enchanted paintings, which Harlow now understands were actually his own creations. She also understands that his parents knew she would marry Henry as he was manipulating her.

Harlow confronts Henry, and he admits the truth, confessing he also killed Gaven. When he confirms he used his manipulative magic on her, Harlow is devastated by the betrayal. Feeling foolish and used, she flees. Henry tries to stop her, but she uses their safe word, “Stars,” forcing him to open the door and let her escape.

Henry joins his friends Bryce, Carter, and Carter’s wife Naima before the day’s ceremony—today is the day Henry and Harlow will reveal their victory to the people—confessing that he can see color, which means he is in love with Harlow. He explains that she has killed her parents and has now fled after discovering his second magical blessing. At the festival, Henry sees Harlow in the crowd. When Rafe arrives on stage, Henry uses his own Polm blessing to overpower him, forcing Rafe to publicly confess to betraying Mountain Haven 10 years prior. Carter and Bryce then lead Rafe away.

After Harlow performs her ceremonial role, playing the part of Stellaria, the rebel leader Rochelli is revealed to be Kellan. Kellan gives a rousing speech, taking responsibility for his parents’ deaths and outlining a new, more equitable vision for the city. The crowd embraces him as their new leader. Afterward, Kellan tells Harlow he orchestrated her first meeting with Henry to protect her from their parents. Still hurt by Henry’s deception, Harlow pulls away from Kellan. Henry asks her to meet him at sundown at North Hold.

Harlow meets Henry at North Hold, the home of Rafe. She finds Henry standing over Rafe, who has been brutally beaten. Henry explains that he replicated the injuries Rafe inflicted on both Harlow and Aidia. He offers Harlow a turn to hurt Rafe, but she declines, wanting only for him to be gone. Henry compels Rafe to stand on the balcony railing and, after Harlow makes him beg for his life, forces him to jump to his death.

Though Rafe is dead, Harlow is still faced with the knowledge that her own husband has the same manipulative power. To prove his trustworthiness and make her feel safe, Henry gives her a lighter that produces holy fire—the one thing capable of killing a Deathless being like him permanently. He offers her the ultimate power over him, but overwhelmed by the gesture and her conflicting emotions, Harlow runs away once more.

Harlow retreats to a secret apartment that was meant to be a safe house for her and Aidia. Her friend Bea finds her there, and Harlow confesses everything about Henry’s betrayal and her conflicted feelings. Bea assures her that the network of women they’ve built, the Poison Vixens, will continue their work, giving Harlow the space she needs to heal and find peace.

Alone, Harlow has a final, imagined conversation with Aidia in a mirror’s reflection. The vision of her sister helps her process her fear of love and abandonment, urging her to stop running from Henry and to accept the safety he offers. They perform their secret farewell ritual—“My heart […] My bones […] Our blood” (640)—and Harlow finally lets her sister go, accepting that she must move forward.

The following morning, Harlow finds Kellan at the Blood Well, where he is overseeing the beginning of his new governance. He explains his plans to protect the city and reveals that he has their abusive older brother, Able, imprisoned in the hopes that time away from the well will cure his madness. Kellan admits that he told Henry about Harlow’s past to help him understand her, and he encourages her to reconcile with her husband.

Henry arrives and leads Harlow away from the crowd. He asks for her trust, promising to never use his manipulative magic on her again without permission. He admits he only used it to try and soothe her overwhelming pain, though he knows it was a violation. He tells her he is in love with her and wants her to be with him by choice, not by obligation. Harlow agrees, but on one condition: “You have to catch me first” (648). She takes off running through the crowd, and he happily gives chase.