The ragtag group from Jalard have finally reached Shemet, Sharma's capital city. Scarred and bereft, they bring with them the grim tale of what happened to their village, and a warning about the ancient powers that have been awakened and now threaten all humanity.

Despite this, some of them still hope that reaching sanctuary within the Synod will mean an end to their hardships, but these hopes are soon dashed. Sharma's ruling class are caught within their own inner turmoil. When Jaedin senses that there are moles within their ranks, not only does his call to crisis fall mostly on deaf ears, but some who do hear seek to thwart him when he tries to hunt these infiltrators down.

Meanwhile, across the Valantian Mountains, Gavendara is beginning to muster its forces. Using ritualistic means to augment their soldiers, their mutant army is like nothing the world has ever seen before.

The Zakaras are coming. And Sharma's only hope of stopping them is if it can unite its people in time.

«a nuanced, smart high fantasy novel with intelligent, complex characters, good LGBT rep and some killer twists» — Joanne Hall, author of The Art of Forgetting

«an exciting book which ups the stakes, mixing traditional fantasy with an element of possession horror» — David Craig, author of the Sooty Feathers series

«a journey into Fantasy, only it's not quite the journey you expected, and it's all the better for it.» — Allen Stroud, chair of BSFA and author of Fearless

Cover design: Alison Buck

Tej Turner