The royals of Rydor are rattled by the betrayal at the stadium in Calderi, but their pedestals remain intact. Elivia Florenell succeeded in taking out the former king, but she did not escape. She thinks she will suffer out her days as a prisoner until a witch arrives and offers her a new choice. Magic gave her a taste of vengeance before, and it isn’t long before she is tempted again.

While the new King Calderi offers Sori a home, she cannot stay when a rumor comes that Loren, her brother, might be in Kova. There she once again crosses paths with Zilas Kova, a king surrounded by plenty of rumors himself. He searches for a way to free his own brother from a curse they share.

Further south than Kova, Loren finds himself in the land of monsters. It lies beyond a barrier, known as the shield, that has kept Rydor from discovering it for years. Still thinking he killed Sori, Loren becomes a shell of a being. Caring not for himself, he only agrees to help the monsters discover what is hurting the shield as a deal to save a young woman he never expected to meet again. On his journey, he discovers monsters have secrets just as dark as humans do.

The lines between right and wrong thin as quickly as the ones between the worlds of monsters, humans, and witches. Truths will come to light that will reshape the powers of all the lands. As they always do, choices come with consequences. And now the debts come due.