Zoey and Stark reassure their imprint by having sex. Aphrodite and Darius leave Skye, but Zoey and Stark decide to stay a little longer while Stark recuperates and Zoey chooses whether or not to be Sgiach's successor. In an attempt to draw Zoey back from Skye after Kalona's failed mission, Neferet kills Jack as a debt payment to Darkness. Kalona finds out that he can enter Stark's mind because of the immortality he breathed into him. oey also begins to trust Erik again and they realize that they were not meant to be anything else but friends. Erik also reveals to Zoey the new marks he's earned which give him the new position of Tracker. During Jack's funeral ceremony, Neferet asks Zoey for forgiveness to regain everyone's trust. Zoey accepts the fake apology even though she sees through Neferet, but many other people think the apology is genuine. Rephaim later makes his appearance after being forced to fall out of the sky. Neferet then accuses him of being allied with Darkness and Stevie Rae for being allied with Rephaim, so Neferet orders the Sons of Erebus to kill both of them. Kalona interferes and faces the Sons of Erebus with Rephaim. The two fight, but Rephaim only defends himself rather than attacking the warriors. Stevie Rae asks her friends to cast a circle to stop the battle and save Rephaim. Just when Dragon Lankford tries to kill Rephaim with the help of Neferet, Nyx appears in an apparition and forgives Rephaim. He was given the choice to choose between Stevie Rae and Kalona and ends up choosing Stevie Rae. Nyx alters him permanently for this decision, so from then on, Rephaim would be a raven during the day and a human during the night. Because Neferet and Dragon do not accept him at the House of Night, Zoey, her friends, and the red fledglings leave to start a new House of Night on their own in the tunnels. Towards the end of the book, Neferet cooperates with the white bull and sacrifices Linda Heffer (who had recently left Zoey's stepfather due to his infidelity) to create a Vessel for her (someone who has to obey her completely) as a weapon. Meanwhile, in the Otherworld, Heath is given the opportunity by Nyx, to be the lost soul in this Vessel and he chooses it over being reborn in the real world or remaining in the Otherworld; this way, he can help Zoey. Meanwhile, Stark and Zoey are making out, but Stark becomes aggressive, which is unlike himself. He bites Zoey, but she is finally able to stop him (It is implied that it was Kalona, not Stark, who took over and got aggressive). When they go to sleep, Zoey has a dream where she learns of her mother's death and realizes that her mother really cared for her. The book ends with Zoey waking up with this new realization and Stark being there to comfort her.