Laarens is alone in the world. Rien is dead, Savrin has become fully Mathes' puppet. Laarens may be the only remaining Ascendar, but he knows his life is cheap and getting cheaper. At least, that's what Rien needs Laarens to believe. She's gambling both their lives on the lie that the two bodies found in her burnt office were Avah's and her own. Avah is dead, but Rien has barely escaped with her life. Nine years before, at Rien's Elevation, Quin Tiwendar swore his life to Rien's service, then vanished. Now, reluctantly reunited with his liege, Quin and his partners offer Rien temporary shelter. But if Galantier is to survive, everyone must understand the commitments they have made to one another and the land of their birth.