As Nikolai and Vika face each other to the death in the Crown‘s Game, the loss of one character would affect the other, regardless of the fact that they‘re strangers. The stakes continue to rise as their desire to defeat each other weakens, on account of fascination between Vika toward Nikolai, and Nikolai‘s best friend‘s interest in both Vika and the secrets of her magic, oblivious to Nikolai‘s abilities and the Crown‘s Game itself, which his own