From Aurealis Award-nominated author Devin Madson comes a new sweeping epic fantasy full of dragons, alchemical magic, and forbidden romance that unfolds as three people...

From Aurealis Award-nominated author Devin Madson comes a new sweeping epic fantasy full of dragons, alchemical magic, and forbidden romance that unfolds as three people in a shattered empire become entangled in a looming revolution.

When dragons rage, chaos reigns.

Conquest built the Celes Basin, now enemies once more threaten its borders. But when the Lord Reacher declares himself supreme ruler to enforce unity, old angers erupt, threatening to tear the basin apart from within.

Tesha, a glassblower's apprentice with a talent for poisonwork, becomes a false tribute bride as part of a desperate political plot. In the Reacher's court, she's perfectly placed to sabotage him, but her heart has other plans.

Naili is laundress to an eccentric alchemist, a job that has left her with strange new abilities that are slowly consuming her--and attracting the notice of the city's underground rulers. With time running out, she'll have to gain power by any means just to survive, let alone change the world.

And in the desolate Shield Mountains, sharp-shooting dragon rider Ashadi protects the basin from the monsters of The Sands beyond, but when an impossible shot pierces his dragon's glass scales, he becomes the hunted one.

As chaos sweeps across the land, Tesha, Naili, and Ashadi must fight to survive political enemies, long-buried secrets, and monsters both within and without.

For more from Devin Madson, check out:

The Reborn Empire:
We Ride the Storm
We Lie With Death
We Cry for Blood
We Dream of Gods

Author: Devin Madson
Publisher: Orbit
Published: 08/27/2024
Pages: 480
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.95lbs
Size: 8.10h x 5.50w x 1.40d
ISBN: 9780316417983


Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 06/01/2024 pg. 88
Publishers Weekly 06/24/2024

About the Author
Devin Madson is an Aurealis Award-winning fantasy author from Australia. After some sucky teenage years, she gave up reality and is now a dual-wielding rogue who works through every tiny side-quest and always ends up too over-powered for the final boss. Anything but zen, Devin subsists on tea and chocolate and so much fried zucchini she ought to have turned into one by now. Her fantasy novels come in all shades of grey and are populated with characters of questionable morals and a liking for witty banter.