The queen has won her crown. Now, she must prove she's worthy to wear it.

Six months ago, Teia Carthan seized the throne against all odds. She sacrificed everything?her morals, her friends, even the spark of love?to hear the whisper of her new title: Highness.

Now, Teia sets sail across the Dark Sea to warn her cousin, the Shaylani emperor, of a threat that could doom the Five Kingdoms: Cornelius Lehm lives, and he's planning to raise the Serkawr. But as she begins a furious journey across Shaylan, Teia knows she needs help to defeat Lehm?even if it means working with the very rebels she betrayed to claim her crown.

Trust is a fragile thing, and Teia crushed it beneath her heel. Can she earn the Dawnbreakers' friendship once again? Or will the consequences of her treachery win out, dragging all she's fought for like a wave to the depths?