Imperator Elgar’s dire strategy for conquering the continent has finally been laid bare, and those who would stop him must prepare to make their final stand. The surviving rogues of the Dragon’s Head are split in two: half help dismantle Elgar’s plot from the shadows of their home city, while the rest chase down rumors and revolts in the east. Valyanrend’s rebels and thieves have made common cause for the first time in centuries, but they form only half of the resistance necessary to challenge the imperator. For the other half, they must look to the continent’s remaining royals for a foreign army. Unfortunately, most of Lantistyne’s royals have seen better days. King Kelken is imprisoned in Araveil, at the mercy of the brutal Administrator Selwyn. And Arianrod Margraine, the brilliant marquise of Esthrades, left her own country open to invasion when she helped save neighboring Issamira from falling into ruin. Now Issamira and Queen Adora, long neutral in this conflict, must take up the burden of war. Adora has reclaimed her crown and found her conviction, but fights to keep her army on a just path amidst the violence she abhors. Together, she and Arianrod have already toppled one power-hungry usurper, but the two of them are separated when a reckless sacrifice puts the marquise’s life in jeopardy. And the ancient spirits of Lantistyne, whose subtle machinations helped Adora survive to gain her throne, are ready to make their will known at last. is another example of Steiger's powerful writing, full of intricate characters and complex world-building.