As armies mobilize and fortifications rise, Zivah and Dineas grapple with the aftermath of their fateful mission. Dineas’s fellow Shidadi no longer trust him after his time in Ampara. And with his constant flashbacks—and lingering feelings of loyalty toward his former comrades—Dineas wonders if his kinsmen might be right.
Meanwhile, Zivah faces growing pressure to betray her healer’s vows. Is it worth honoring the Goddess’s wishes if it means the destruction of all she knows? On top of that, she’s having flashes of fever—signs that her illness is returning to claim her.
As the world around them threatens to collapse, Zivah and Dineas must decide how they feel about each other. Was the love and friendship they shared in Sehmar City an illusion, or is it strong enough to save them all?
New York Times bestselling author Livia Blackburne wrote her first novel while researching the neuroscience of reading at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Since then, she’s switched to full time writing, which also involves getting into people’s heads but without the help of a three tesla MRI scanner. She is the author of the Midnight Thief (An Indies Introduce New Voices selection) and Rosemarked (A YALSA Teens Top Ten nominee), as well as the picture book I Dream of Popo, which received three starred reviews and was on numerous Best of Year lists.