Two months after her mother's death, stalked by nightmares and

uncontrollable shaking, Ember Ignis is a shell of her former self. After

months of silence from the royal family, she intentionally lashes out at

the Silent Duels, bringing an heir to the brink of death. In response,

the royal family sends her to speak to the High Priestess of Eiad in

hopes that the houses can forge an alliance with the temple. Ember is

accompanied by Viper Trunca, and as she tries to ignore what is

growing between them, they discover something dark lurking in the shadow of the Phoenix Flame.

Across the sea, in a country laced with a bloody past and ruled by a

calculating tsar, Asher Cinis faces the impossible task of raising his

own army in support of the rebellion. Assigned a fearsome soldier

called the Fangs to help guide him, they will travel far into the heart of

the frozen kingdom in search of hard-won support. The further they

journey, the more they encounter opposition-to Asher, to the war, to

the Fangs. As tension builds in Eiad, Asher must come to terms with

the past that haunts him, and the person he is becoming.