The emperor is dead. A crown prince lies poisoned. And a second Diet of Blood is coming.

The lords of the realm are forced to choose sides as suspicion falls on the prince's own brother, Warwick. As the investigation into the attempted murder unravels, alliances fracture, blades are drawn, and mysterious priests arrive to cast their judgment. But as more murders grip the realm, the question of who should wear the crown grows darker by the day.

And beyond the Crownhold, the world is equally aflame.

Laewyn has driven her people south of the Hearthsea, burning, looting, and killing her way through the Outsiders in a war born of vengeance. She believes the title of War Maker is hers to claim - yet as she calls every clan and centaur to her side, she risks igniting a civil war of her own making.

In the south, Jae finds himself the leader of a city in ruin. As new political forces emerge, he must grapple with backstabbing, murder plots, and something far worse. Beyond the city's borders, a horde is marching in the Scorch Grass, led by a mythic minotaur called the Ghost Bull. Astrelaide, still reeling from its revolution, now finds itself at war.

And poor Josephina. Relentlessly hunted by her mother and the Reisonic Knights, her flight drives her straight into the army of Gothonia. Dragged before the king and promised to become a princess, she must keep her two-headed beast under control as it grows larger and more dangerous by the day.

The kindling is in place. War banners rise. New threats press in from the far east.

All that's missing is the match.