July 15, 2022
The Empire's victory, courtesy of a betrayal by the Uaine, isn't quite complete, but matters look grim for our heroes. Reunited Sonya and Sebastian, friends as well as siblings, seek an alliance with the Kante; Sebastian, at least, wants to make up for some of the crimes he committed in the imperial military. Jorge is busy convincing the heads of the families that an alliance is in the best interest of a free Ra�z. Galina, having taken the throne of Izmoroz, fights off nobles who prefer inertia over change and the encroaching empire. Vittorio, imperial regent, is not just a brutal tyrant, but yet another piece in the complicated game set up by gods who are at constant odds with one another. A grim and bloody fight for independence and survival, along with unexpected alliances and whispers of other distant threats make for a thrilling conclusion to this chapter of Skovron's tales (after The Queen of Izmoroz, 2021). The scale of the story grows from the struggles of human civilization to battles fought by the divine, while leaving space for purely human joy, which suits the arc of the trilogy admirably.
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