After Jon died, the Aldermaston brought a new hunter, Martin, to train Lia to replace him. Colvin never came to the winter festival to dance with her. Skip forward a year and Lia has learned a lot about being a hunter and is still angry with Colvin for not keeping his promises. Lia goes back to the Leering that looks like her and gets poisoned by a Blight plant. She and Martin rush back and the Aldermaston is able to cure her though she is covered in splotches. While she was gone Colvin had arrived at the Abbey with his friend Edmond, his sister Marciana, and Ellowyn Demont. Ellowyn was the lost princess of Pry-Ree who was found as an orphan in another Abbey. Both the Sherrif and Colvin had thought that Lia was the princess since she was the right age as well. Colvin tells Lia that he was late because he was instructed to find the lost princess and he was trying to find proof that it was Lia. He eventually found out it was Ellowyn and brought her along.
On one of Lia's errands she discovered Scarseth trying to use his medallion to gain entrance to the Abbey through a Leering. Lia immediately told the Aldermaston and he admonished her to find and capture him. On the way she ran into Colvin and together they tried to follow Scarseth. He had laid a trap and Lia and Colvin barely got away in time. When Lia went to tell the Aldermaston she found out the Queen Dowager had arrived and was arguing with him. The next day while Lia is with Colvin they run into the Earl of Dieyre who Colvin hates. He was rumored to be the best swordsman in the land. Later Lia runs into him Dieyre again inside of the Abbey where he tries to get under her skin and under the skin of Marciana and Ellowyn. He hints to Lia that there is a Kishion, or assassin in the Abbey.
When the Aldermaston is meeting with Lia, he gifts her with the ability to understand all languages so she can overhear what the Queen's servants are saying. She also finds out that both a young learner named Duerden wants to marry her and Colvin might try as well. The Queen and her retinue leave and promise to be back in a week for the festival. Dieyre stays behind. Lia is moving through the rain and Colvin catches up to her. He tells her he wants to adopt her into his family, and she is crushed. After he learns she wanted him to marry her, he gets angry and withdraws his offer to adopt her into his family. As Lia runs away she runs into some of the queens soldiers. They attack her and she barely fights them off.
Lia goes to guard Ellowyn and Marciana overnight. The Kishion comes to kill them and Lia is able to summon a fire Leering to burn him alive. The Kishion had stabbed Astrid, the page boy. The Aldermaston brought him back to life through the Medium. When the Queen comes back the Aldermaston denies her entry for her betrayal. The Queen reveals that Delmont is surrounded by a larger army and about to be destroyed far away. Martin takes Ellowyn, Colvin, Edmond, and Marciana away from the Abbey in secret. Lia takes and passes the Maston's test. There she learns that their world is one of many, and the goal of Maston's is to return to Idumea after death. The Myriad Ones were unborn souls who were cast out of Idumea. Ereshkigal was their queen. Hetaera were women who used Kystrels to control men. They had powers similar to Maston's using the Medium. Their goal was the destruction of all Mastons.
While Lia is taking her test, many from the Abbey are enticed to join the Queen for the festival. The next day most of them regret it after getting overly drunk. The Queen demands entry the next day, and the Aldermaston informs her that Ellowyn is gone and he doesn't know where. Her soldiers scatter to try to find her. After a couple of days Colvin returns alone. Martin had betrayed them and stolen Ellowyn back to Pry-Ree. Ellowyn was the long lost princess of Pry-Ree and he felt duty bound to return her. Colvin and Lia set off after them with Dieyre. At the ocean they run into soldiers attacking a house with Edmond and Marciana in it. Together they defeat the soldiers. Colvin and Lia cross the ocean alone to follow Martin and Ellowyn to Pry-Ree. One night Colvin reveals that he does have feelings for Lia but he can't marry her since she is not a noble and he has a duty to his family.
As they cross the mountains they come across a Fear Liath but are able to stop it with the Medium. They eventually find Ellowyn in Tintern Abbey. The Aldermaston agrees to release Ellowyn and they run away back across the mountains. He also reveals that many of the Pry-Ree Mastons had already left on boats to flee the Blight. The Pry-Ree's follow them but get killed by the Fear Liath as they try to follow back across the mountain. As Colvin, Lia, and Ellowyn are crossing the ocean, they realize that it was a trap and that Dieyre was waiting for them with soldiers. They flee aboard the boat up through the Bearden Muir straight to Muirwood Abbey. As they sneak and fight their way across, they almost get to the Abbey in time. Colvin and Ellowyn snuck in while Lia attempted to reach the Leering to activate the Abbey's defenses but was hit my multiple arrows and was captured by Dieyre. Scarseth was using his Kystrel to disable the Leering.
Colvin arrived in time to defeat Dieyre. Scarseth stabbed Lia, but Lia was able to rip his Kystrel off. With it off Scarseth was no longer bound to the Queen and carried her the rest of the way to the Leering. Before passing out Lia activated the Abbey's defenses and a great flood killed all of the invading soldiers. The Aldermaston ressurected Lia. Scarseth was forgiven and became the new hunter of the Abbey since he was reprentent. Colvin and Ellowyn were going to travel to Dahomey to warn the people that the Blight is coming to destroy everyone who does not leave. Scarseth tells Lia his story about why he came to hate Muirwood and that he saw Martin drop his Lia off at the abbey a long time ago. Martin was the Prince's guard. Lia deduces that she is actually Ellowyn, the lost princess, and that the other girl was Martin's daughter. The Medium confirms it.