Casteel has spent 13 days imprisoned in a cell with unbreakable shadowstone shackles around his neck and ankles. Every day, Handmaidens come to drain his blood. Though Casteel is weak, he fights a Craven, a decaying and monstrous creature, and manages to strangle and temporarily kill it.

Isbeth, the Blood Queen, arrives at Casteel’s cell, accompanied by her Handmaidens and a powerful Revenant named Callum. Isbeth taunts him about his love for Poppy and hints that she has bigger plans for them before ordering Callum to attack.

Poppy leads a small force of wolven and soldiers through the dangerous Pinelands near Massene, a city under the control of the Blood Crown. She seeks to reclaim Oak Ambler, a key port, and free Casteel. As they reach the city, Poppy and the others find the bodies of innocents impaled on the city gates, veiled in the same garments she was once forced to wear as a Handmaiden. Poppy is consumed with rage, but with Kieran’s help, she gets control of her powers to avoid prematurely giving themselves away.

They quickly and quietly take down the city’s guards and, once inside, overpower the remaining guards and Ascended, including Duke Silvan, who led the atrocities.