After a woman uses her blood to heal a man named Visari, a second man arrives, each asserting a claim over her. With hostile creatures closing in, Visari offers the woman a deadly choice: stay and die, or come with him to live. She refuses to be an object, demanding they tell her everything in exchange for her cooperation. As Visari reveals that her blood has unique healing properties and that his powerful family secretly controls the city, she learns her free choice is what made the magic work. He warns her that leaving would put her back in danger, as she has now crossed into their hidden world.