In a shattered, fading world, the last vestiges of a once-revered order are all that standagainst the return of an insidious evil

With the depth of Antonia Hodgson's The Raven Scholar and the rugged found family of Joe Abercrombie's The Devils, this lush dark fantasy urges us to confront the monster within

The world is a broken one, held together only by magical portals and the Vespers, an ancient order clinging to its fight against the darkness. The Vespers are noble. They are gifted. They are pure. Or are they?

Three new recruits are poised to learn the unholy truth hiding behind the legends.

Princess Sennia is sick of political games. She longs for the simple, clear life of a Vesper, battling the wraiths that menace her crumbling world. But she soon discovers that the order, much like the court she left behind, is guarding dangerous secrets.

Ezerye, an idealistic scholar, has always believed the only true evil is ignorance: no harm could ever come of an honest search for knowledge. That conviction is tested when a mysterious presence begins to speak to her from within the portals, and Ezerye must decide just how far she's willing to go for answers.

Jaskin has spent his entire life waiting to be consumed by his monstrous brother's magic. Desperate for sanctuary, he casts himself upon the mercy of the Vespers-and gets far more than he bargained for. Flush with newfound powers, Jaskin finally has the chance to teach his dear twin what it feels like to be hunted.

In a world of perilous faith and unthinkable sacrifice, a princess, a scholar, and a runaway mage must join together and find the strength to confront the monsters without and within.