Since their defeat at the hands of Valerius and his army three months prior, Aurelia and her friends are lost. Aurelia has renounced her country in order to do what she thinks is right-and to survive. Now, with Renfred in the dungeons and her fortitude waning, she sets off on a quest to find the Guardians of the Gift in the hopes of restoring magic to the land and driving away the invaders. Inside the castle, Edana and the resistance attempt to thwart Valerius's plan to give people magic by taking away their souls and turning them into soldiers driven by insatiable rage. But fear of her dangerous new magic holds her back, and navigating the political landscape might cause her to lose sight of herself. And Mira, empress of Mydrost, intends to challenge Valerius and his troops over Temidorus, but to do so, she must forge an alliance with Queen Minerva of Sunniva, Renfred's older sister. But the two leaders' clash of opinions and cultures might sink them before they've begun. They must trust in themselves and each other before Valerius's hunt tears the veil between this realm and the next.