Seraphina returns to school after her suspension ends, now without her powers and the eyes of the school on her. Meanwhile, in the wake of the attack on Seraphina at John's home, John is forcibly moved into the Wellston dormitory. As John and Sera attempt to get things back to normal, people all around them threaten to uncover the secrets they are each hiding, while the authorities are not willing to let Seraphina go yet...
Remi goes to meet Arlo as she promised. A student of Agwin High School pours her coffee over Remi. They fight, and Arlo forces the offender to apologize to Remi.
Blyke wakes and goes to the washroom, only to find John gelling his hair. Later, he meets with Isen, and he found out that John was Blyke's roommate. Later on, Seraphina walks through the halls, find a student being bullied.
After reading an article written by Terrence regarding Arlo's defeat at the hands of The Shadow King John, Cecile tries to figure out a way to publicize the news without being stopped by the "official" King. Not long afterwards, Juni approaches her with a lead that suggests Seraphina is unable to use her ability, only to be told to get solid proof on the matter.
John is accosted by Zeke and Mardin in what they call "a welcome". When John refuses to call Zeke "king" and hurls insult after insult at him, the angry elite-tier beats him unconscious.
Blyke is discussing Remi's sudden change in attitude regarding EMBER when they come across the unconscious John. At Isen's insistence they carry him back to his and Blyke's dorm, but are not met with gratitude when he comes to. Tensions run high and just as Blyke demands an explanation, Isen receives a summons from Cecile...
To Isen's displeasure, Cecile wants him to tell her everything he might know about the mysterious "Shadow King" she's heard about. Despite his fear of the consequences, Isen is forced to reveal everything he learned about John, including his history at New Bostin and his true power level. He begs Cecile not to get involved with someone so volatile. Meanwhile, Seraphina gets a call from Fyora, who warns her about an impending visit from the Authorities.
Blyke is not enjoying his new dorm life with John for a roomie. Despite chasing of two of Zeke's flunkies, John remains ungrateful and surly. Meanwhile, having suspected it earlier, Juni decides to take a big risk in determining whether Seraphina's ability has truly been compromised and throws a stone at her.
Having been hit by that thrown stone, Seraphina starts bleeding. Juni rushes up to her and apologizes, claiming it was an accident. She meets up with John at the infirmary, who reacts to the news with horror. He insists the girl did this deliberately, and warns that Seraphina's powerlessness would make her a target like him if word got out. Seraphina demands to know why the usually aloof John was suddenly not acting like himself, and confronts him about what happened with Arlo during her suspension.
Confronted with proof that he and Arlo had run-ins with each other, John tells of how Arlo rejected his offer of friendship in the worst way. John did not divulge all of the true details, so as not to reveal his secret to Seraphina. Seraphina, knowing Arlo all too well, believes John's version of the story, and mulls over it until Darren calls her over to discuss the lab results on her blood. Later on, Arlo is mulling over Rei possibly dying as a result of becoming a superhero when John bumps into him and demands to speak with him on the roof.
On his way to meet John, Arlo is called out by Seraphina. She confronts him with a version of the story of his fight with John that didn't happen, and warns him not to do anything like that again. Arlo angrily confronts John with this lie, but John only wants to know why Arlo let Seraphina get hurt. An argument about who should be the one protecting her ends with Arlo deciding he will no longer have anything to do with John.
The day of Seraphina's questioning has arrived. Nadia returns, this time with Keon, who does not accept half-truths as answers. Seraphina reveals the truth regarding the attack that left her powerless, and is forced to admit that she had stayed at her friend John's house. Keon recognizes the name, but stays on topic and asks what Seraphina thought about the book Unordinary. Seraphina insists she didn't agree with it, but Nadia flags this statement as a lie.
Keon and Headmaster Vaughn discuss the next course of action to take with Seraphina. Vaughn allows Keon to prepare a readjustment program for Seraphina, but refuses to have her removed from the school grounds after her ordeal. He also refuses to grant Keon's request to speak with John until he returns with a warrant. Seraphina realizes that her schoolmates are becoming aware of her powerlessness, and tries to go someplace private. Unfortunately, she is followed by Juni, who pushes her down the stairs and takes a picture proving that the Ace is now a cripple. The limping Seraphina is approached by Remi, who helps her to the infirmary.
Remi expresses her worry that Seraphina is the second royal to get hurt, and Seraphina is surprised to learn that Arlo was the first. Seraphina confides to Remi that the people who attacked her stripped her of her ability, which Remi worries may not come back. Remi wonders if the same methods used to disable Seraphina were used to kill her brother. John, having heard about Seraphina being injured, immediately heads to the infirmary. He learned that the green-haired, bun-headed girl from before was responsible. Seraphina tells him that the interview went terribly, and admits to revealing John's name to Keon. John privately recalls this man from his own past, but assures Seraphina that he'll be able to handle any issue involving the Authorities.
Characters Introduced[]
Characters introduced in this arc in the order of introduction
