Delmarth Academy is struggling to recover from the invasion of the Sireres and the slaughter of hundreds of Primordial children.

Now reunited with her father, Ella is forced to reconcile with the fact that the man she thought she knew twenty-one years ago never truly existed. Their fraught reunion awakens not just an anger in her that was buried under years and years of separation, but power that lay dormant in her veins on the Earthly Plane, now fully roused and feeding off her rage. If Ella doesn't work to master her power, to become one with every part of herself, she will risk not just hers and Kellen's lives, but Aros Cavalian and the entire kingdom of Cavale. As she makes new discoveries about not just who, but what she truly is, she is left with a soul-crushing realization: all this time, she thought she knew herself, but in truth, she knew nothing at all.

Meanwhile, Kellen is given the opportunity of a lifetime when Aros Cavalian appoints him as the newest member of the Cavalian army. He joins the Special Operations unit to help plan their retaliation against Lantari, which forces Kellen to divide his time between the army, his responsibilities at Delmarth as Varmin Department head, and his family. While Kellen thrives in his new position, his family starts to deteriorate back at Delmarth. With Noella's struggles to accept her power and his little sister facing challenges with her wings, Kellen is stretched thin between all the people in his life who need him.

Together, Ella and Kellen are about to learn that when outer forces think of you as their blade and pick up the hilt to fight, it's the weapon that didn't choose to enter the battle that's left carrying the guilt.