Much to Tristan's surprise, this Empress turns out to be a counterpart of Ariadne.  Unlike the girl Tristan knows, however, this Ariadne is cruel and sadistic, enjoying tormenting her subjects as she rules Shaldani with an iron fist.  When Tristan insists that this is not his world, she immediately determines that he's telling the truth based on his pulse and she offers him a bargain.  She will have her faithful servant, Philip, create a way to send Tristan home, but in return, he must go out and capture one of her enemies, a rebel and vigilante known as The Panther.  Tristan readily agrees.

 

He sets out to the village to gather information about The Panther, but as soon as he leaves the palace grounds, he is abducted by two warrior women who turn out to the mirror counterparts of Lex and Casey.  They tie him up and go through his belongings to find the money and supplies given to him by the Empress.  As the sworn enemies of Ariadne and her soldiers, they decide to ransom him in exchange for several important political prisoners about to be executed for trumped up charges.  Tristan is content to let them take him and they become uneasy.  Afraid of a trap, they choose to walk along the water rather than through the forest on their way back to their hideout.

 

Just as Tristan is beginning to learn the full extent of Ariadne's cruelty, Casey's plan to walk along the water backfires.  A pirate crew, led by Aden, attacks.  He wants to take Tristan and ransom him for money, rather than hostages, and proceeds to fight both Lex and Casey.  In the fray, the members of his crew, Lucien, Adriana, and Tranns, manage to smuggle Tristan back onto the pirate ship.  He calls himself Tristan Theos, the name that Insa gave him, and when they check the manifests of Ariadne's lackeys, they cannot find him listed anywhere.  Angry for the waste of time and disgusted that they'll receive no ransom, they decide to torture and execute him.

 

With an anchor tied to his feet, Tristan is flung into the water.  At the last minute, Casey and Lex charge in to Tristan's rescue.  They manage to pull him out of the water, admitting that they must have been wrong about him, if the pirates rejected him.  They agree to take him to The Panther who turns out, much to his surprise, to be Insa.  He cannot bring himself to harm Insa, even an alternate version, and ends up helping her by telling her that Ariadne is Andorian.  Insa triumphantly declares that this information can be used by her rebels to free Shaldani.  Insa offers Tristan a place on her team, but just then, Quinn, who was checking up on the Phoenix Fighters for Casey, arrives to rescue him, taking him back home.

 

Tristan joyfully reunites with Insa and the two of them, along with the rest of the House, celebrate the new year.  A few days later, Insa calls Tristan into her room.  After sharing a passionate kiss, she tells him there's something very important she wants to discuss.  Before she can continue, however, Tristan is surrounded in a bright white light.  In front of Insa's eyes, Tristan returns to being Niflheim.  Enraged, he travels home where his father, King Mithos, and Uri the head Carver explain that due to Skokan's dire warnings, they have elected to turn him back.  Tristan begs passionately to be returned to Insa, but they won't allow it.  Unable to love her as he is, Tristan elects to leave Insa behind.  Privately, however, Insa confesses to Lex and the admirals that she is pregnant.