Kraljica Allesandra sits on the Sun Throne of a much-diminished Holdings empire, while her son Jan rules the rival Coalition of Firenzcia. The schism between them threatens to tear apart the realm when they need solidarity the most. Facing powerful threats, from the rising influence of the Numetodo sect to the fundamentalist preacher Nico Morel-as well as the army of Tehuantin from across the sea- Allesandra and Jan must each find a pathway to survival for themselves and their people.

The breathtaking first novel in a brilliant new fantasy series

A masterwork of fantasy, The Nessantico Cycle is the epic tale of an empire at its height, yet poised on the brink of what could be a devastating descent into ruin. Told from the viewpoints of numerous characters, it is a sweeping saga of murder and magic (portrayed both as a powerful religion and a forbidden art), of deception and betrayal, of Machiavellian politics, star-crossed lovers, and a realm facing war on every front.

The second novel in the Nessantico Cycle continues the epic tale of an empire at its height, yet poised on the brink of what could be a devastating descent into ruin. It is a story of murder and magic, of deception and betrayal, of Machiavellian politics, star-crossed lovers, and a realm facing war on every front.

It's now twenty-five years after the events of A MAGIC OF TWILIGHT. A boy king--Audric, the grandson of the legendary Kraljica Marguerite--rules Nessantico under the tutelage of Sergei ca'Rudka, but the boy is ill and there are those who are waiting impatiently for the Sun Throne to become vacant again. The continent-spanning empire of the Holdings has broken in half, with Firenzcia and neighboring countries to the east creating a rival alliance. The Concénzia Faith has also been sundered, with Archigos Ana ca'Seranta ruling in Nessantico while another in Brezno claims the same title. In Firenzcia, Allesandra ca'Vörl plots against the Holdings, and for Semini ca'Cellibrecca, the Archigos of Brezno, the acceptance of the Numetodo heretics in the Holdings makes him quake with fury. In the far west, there is war with the Tehuantin, the people of the Hellins, and that war does not go well. In Nessantico herself, in the warrens of Oldtown, agents of the Tehuantin are watching...

And quickly, with a roar of flame and unexpected death, great and terrible events are set in motion, and Nessantico must face a threat unlike any other in its long, illustrious history: a threat that will take it to the knife-edge of destruction.