Gideon Drake is in a dream realm, accompanied by his roommate, Max, who takes the shape of a black Labrador. He has never met another medeian like himself, a magical creature capable of walking through others’ dreams, easily crossing the line between subconscious and conscious. He misses Nico but has become accustomed to his absence over the past year. When they first met in the freshman dorms at the New York University of Magical Arts (NYUMA), Gideon thought Nico might be a creature hunter, or someone sent by his mother, Eilif, a mermaid. Nico, however, seemed to immediately understand Gideon’s power.

As he crosses the dream realm with Max, Gideon feels them getting closer to Nico. He slides through the sand at his feet, through a sky into another desert. Getting past the Alexandrian Society’s protective wards is always tricky. Although Gideon can’t die in a dream, he can feel pain, which he does as he falls into an empty room. Nico is there, and Gideon tells him that he’s close to finding Libby.

The narrative states the novel’s titular paradox: “Your capacity for power increases exponentially in relation to the actual power you have gained; thus, to gain power is to be increasingly powerless” (16).