A spellwright discovers the protective oath she wrote for a soldier has started defending the enemy's village instead. Tracing its change of heart brings her to the adult clockmaker who keeps the village running, and a love that makes obedience look dangerously small.
An adult sky salvager and a rival astronomer find that each kiss lifts a district of their floating city. They must learn what the city is escaping before love carries everyone beyond the air.
A royal horticulturist discovers the adult strangers tending her forbidden garden are deposed rulers growing back their power. The one she loves wants to become ordinary, just as the palace needs another king.