In White London, Kosika prepares for a ritual known as tithing day, where citizens of the country shed blood to appease and increase the magic in the land. Kosika is secretly especially thrilled because today is her 14th birthday: “She’d been on the throne for seven years—seven years marked by peace, and power—which meant she’d now spent half her life as queen” (276). She steps out into the city attended by her guards, including her friend Lark.

In a flashback, Kosika remembers what happened seven years earlier, when her life changed. Kosika was still in hiding from her mother and did not want to return home, so she wandered the city. She heard screaming and found Lark being captured by a group of enslavers, including the same man her mother had met earlier. Kosika used magic for the first time and pulled a wall down on top of one of the men but was too late to prevent Lark from being badly hurt. She killed the enslavers and then used magic to heal Lark. Kosika and Lark were found by Holland’s former guards, the Vir, who marveled at Kosika’s power and her eyes, which had turned Antari black.