Genevieve Grimm traveled to Rome with hidden aims and soon was harried by ominous crows that drove her to open an enchanted invitation from Barrington Silver of Enchantra Estate; despite illusions at the gate and poisoned demonberries that erased intruders’ memories, she forced her way inside, confronted a golden-eyed stranger, Rowin Silver, and entered the dust-laden villa. Within, she discovered portraits, draped mirrors, and Barrington’s family, including Ellin and Sevin, who warned of a deadly annual Hunt bound to Knox, a Devil whose wards and translation magic governed the grounds. Barrington revealed he was Knox’s Familiar, that his Demon wife Vira suffered from Crimson Rot, and that all who entered on this day would be trapped by the Hunt at midnight.

Pressed for a way to live, Genevieve faced Rowin’s drastic proposal to marry before midnight and invoke a loophole allowing two winners; after fleeing, she was dragged through a mirror by Knox, survived a brutal test in a sunny maze, and ultimately conceded to the rushed Aeternitas ceremony. Married and newly bound, she learned the Hunt’s schedule and the safe and hunting hours that locked everyone’s magic. Knox’s masquerade soon began, the ballroom transformed under his hand, and a passion-fruit enchantment overwhelmed Genevieve and Rowin, which he resisted to deny Knox control. As midnight tolled, the Hunting Blade chose Grave, whose game of “roaming rooms” sent Genevieve into the freezing maze, where she narrowly evaded him before Rowin whisked her into grave-hidden passages; even so, Grave cornered them later, stabbed Rowin, and nearly killed Genevieve before her magic returned.

Rounds escalated: Remi disguised himself as Rowin and wounded Genevieve before she escaped; in an enchanted meadow, she and Rowin uncovered a fish-trigger puzzle for an immunity token, and when Umbra fetched a crimson fish, the river turned predatory and caged Rowin, forcing Genevieve to dive into a swarm of biting fish to save Umbra and the token, nearly dying until an unseen helper’s magic saved her after Rowin bargained away the token. Their bond deepened through care, hard truths about Farrow’s past abuse, and staged intimacy to win Favored for Knox’s audience. During Sevin’s feral return, Genevieve fled his monstrous Familiar into a mirror-forest room, discovered a mirror world, fought a shadow Apparition for a black heart–shaped token, and emerged grievously scarred in the eye but alive.

With immunity in hand, Rowin redeemed time in Hell: Knox cuffed them to noon, they navigated a perilous market, and visited Vira at Knoxium. When Sevin arrived screaming from a blade-wound to his heart, Knox compelled Genevieve into his trove under a memory-erasing bargain; inside, he revealed he created Crimson Rot and produced a vial of cure, trying to trade it for Salem’s return. Genevieve refused to betray her sister; Knox destroyed the vial and, as agreed, erased Genevieve’s memory of the trove. Back at Enchantra, distrust and pressure peaked until Ellin’s Hunt: she nearly killed Genevieve before Rowin snapped Ellin’s neck to save her, after which he confessed Knox had offered him freedom to help eliminate Genevieve—a deal he refused. In the aftermath, Ellin later killed Covin through a feint; Grave assaulted Genevieve outside the game but was checked by Ellin; and Rowin secured a truce with Grave to stage an explosive finale.

At the final choosing, Knox named Genevieve Favored and altered the rules: if she died within an hour, Rowin and all the Silvers would be freed immediately; he severed Rowin and Genevieve’s life-bond and restored their magic, pushing Rowin to kill his wife. In the labyrinth, Rowin and Genevieve executed a plan conceived with Grave: using a Soul Lock inspired by Barrington’s past, they baited Knox into preferring soul-capture over death. Grave froze Knox briefly while Genevieve donned and opened the locket; declaring herself Rowin’s, she guided Rowin’s hand to stab her through the heart so her soul would be claimed by the locket instead of Knox, fulfilling the spectacle while denying the Devil his prize.

Genevieve later awoke in her childhood bedroom in New Orleans, where Salem revealed she had died four days earlier and that he had reforged her soul into her body at the cost of all memories of someone she loved. Ophelia promised answers in weekly letters, and Genevieve began reading Rowin’s elegant accounts of their time at Enchantra, learning how Grave helped seed the scheme, how Ellin forfeited to free Vira, and how Rowin and Grave nearly died returning her locket to Salem. Weeks later in the French Quarter, Genevieve encountered a stranger with gold eyes and claimed a dropped onyx signet ring; when she finally put it on, a bargain Rowin had made in Hell with the King—trading his immortality to bind her memories into the ring and merge their lifespans upon her consent—restored everything.

Memories flooding back, Genevieve ran to the Riverwalk and reunited with Rowin, who had waited there since returning her home; they reconciled tenderly, acknowledging his sacrifice and their choice to share a mortal life together. In the epilogue at Grimm Manor, Rowin, Genevieve, Grave, Sevin, Ophelia, and Salem coordinated their next move for Vira’s cure, with Sevin pledging to infiltrate the Daemonica and Barrington still missing, while Genevieve and Rowin stole a quiet moment, resolved to face what comes as partners.