But Saeris is no longer a victim. Her power grows. So does her rage. When the council attempts to assassinate her in secret, she retaliates with fire, destroying the marble chamber and leaving the elders trembling. She’s no longer the girl from the streets of Zilvaren. She is now the bearer of the Void.

Dairon, increasingly torn, trains her more fiercely, yet draws closer. Between them, the tension ignites. On a stormy night, they surrender to desperation, fear, and desire. They need each other, even as the world crumbles around them.

The fragile truce shatters when an emissary from Madra, the Eternal Queen, arrives. A bridge between worlds has reopened. Humans have discovered the portals. War looms, and Saeris is the weapon everyone wants to control.

But nothing is as it seems. Carrion Swift reappears in Yvelia, alive and a traitor. He has sold secrets to Madra. He has revealed Saeris’s existence. And he has brought a venomous offering: Hayden.

Her brother, the only thing anchoring her to humanity, is now a captive.

—If you want him to live, open the door to Ajun —Carrion says, his voice dripping with poison.

Saeris breaks.

She accepts.

But not out of fear.