A deadly trap….

A new ally….

A grand illusion….

Salmaara has chosen to fight the empress. The empress who has nearly the entire known world under her domination. The empress who commands all of the world’s armies. The empress who is impossible to kill.

The situation is dire. The empire’s armies surround Arvitra Basin and could strike at any moment. With Queen Kusae a prisoner of the enemy or dead, it is up to Salmaara and Gjordkra to try and save what is left of the last free people in the world. But they are hopelessly outnumbered and trapped. What can they do? There has been no word of the empress whom Salmaara left at the bottom of a lava vent, her body twisted and broken. Could she have survived? What about Kusae, Salmaara’s mother? One way or the other, Salmaara suspects it is only a matter of time until the armies are given their final orders and the basin bathed in the blood of the people she has taken in her mother’s stead.

In a world turning to darkness, Salmaara embraces a flicker of hope. Find the mysterious man from her vision. Discover more about her own powers. Come up with a crazy plan. But who can Salmaara trust? And even with her growing powers and new friends, will it be enough against the empire’s might?

“Tiffany Brazell's imagination takes off where others’ end. This is a tale of high magic that is sure to please.” (David Farland, New York Times best-selling author of The Runelords)