". . . an entertaining tale of conspiracy, murder, magic, diplomacy, and an emotion-filled exiles return."--Carolyn Cushman, Locus magazine

In this, book three of the Nightrunner series, wounded heroes of a cataclysmic battle, Seregil and Alec have spent the past two years in self-imposed exile, far from their adopted homeland, Skala, and the bitter memories there. But as the war rages on, their time of peace is shattered by a desperate summons from Queen Idrilain, asking them to aid her daughter on a mission to Aurenen, the very land from which Seregil was exiled in his youth.

Here, in this fabled realm of magic and honor, he must at last confront the demons of his dark past, even as Alec discovers an unimagined heritage. And caught between Skalas desperate need and the ancient intrigues of the Aurenfaie, they soon find themselves snared in a growing web of treachery and betrayal.