For ten years, the Imperium held Princess Vesper and the other tributes captive, waiting for the end of the war and a return to their homeland. When chaos provides a chance of escape, Vesper leads the others on a perilous journey back home to the Aweran continent.
Prince Regen of Vuorikoti, ever present at Vesper's side since their initial captivity, is now faced with the reality of seeing his family again for the first time since his brother's death and being shoved into a role he was never intended to fill. As the tributes' elemental magic surfaces, an unpredictable arcane power emerges, shifting the dynamics of power across the continent.
Back in Ibis, Imperial Princess Tamsin Tenebra is arrested for helping the tributes escape, and is accused of a larger conspiracy. Despite the scrutiny, Tamsin finds herself enmeshed with a resistance group that seeks to unearth the truth about the war tributes.
As the Imperium's influence stretches across both continents, Vesper, Regen, and Tamsin must each decide what they are willing to sacrifice in the face of the Imperium's relentless search for power before it consumes everything in its path.
