Ashlyn meets Jameson secretly in a bioluminescent park, where he gives her a key and explains she'll encode intelligence in her Arctic reporting while warning her about threats from Alexander. Edward teaches her breathing exercises at a training arena to help control her emerging light powers. That night, Ashland has a violent prophetic dream involving a knife attack.

Ashland wakes in the Golden Kingdom disoriented but guarded, meets Edward, Eric, and Tiffany, and begins to press for answers about who — or what — she is. They warn her of political danger if Jameson’s heir status is discovered, mention whispered folklore about a “mystical queen,” and explain why staying near court is safer than it looks. That evening she accepts shelter in a cottage Jameson quietly prepared, receives a stack of his journals and the startling link between Maddox Corporation and her mother’s hospital bills. The next morning she’s issued a preloaded Astronote payment chip and onboarding materials; conflicted and wary, she resolves to read, learn the streets, and navigate two worlds on her own terms.

In Chapter Three, Jameson returns to the Golden Kingdom under cover to check on Ashlyn, whose mysterious illness may be linked to her hidden heritage. Tensions rise as Ashlyn confronts him for abandoning her, unleashing powers she didn’t know she had. Magnolia and Tiffany work to protect Ashlyn while Jameson reveals fragments of his past and the political dangers surrounding them. As he prepares to leave again, Ashlyn begins to awaken—emotionally and physically—setting the stage for deeper truths to emerge.