With the castle walls bearing down on her and a forced marriage fast-approaching, Iellieth Amastacia is out of escape routes... Until her elven father's amulet whisks her off to a frozen mountainside and the ancient warrior waiting to be awakened within. Fate binds Iellieth and Marcon Colabra together, just as a magical curse binds Marcon to her amulet. Being trapped together isn't enough, as the forgotten warrior isn't the only dormant force awakening to this new world. A fallen guardian hunts Iellieth-he knows she's the only one who can save Azuria from his dark mistress's plots, and he doesn't mean to be thwarted again. Standing between Iellieth and the powerful mage, a young saudad woman fends off the press of werewolves teeming within the Caldaran forests. Persephonie Arelle and her people await the chosen one, promised long ago. Across the Infinite Ocean, the bard-turned-pirate Teodric Adhemar faces a choice-submit to the atrocities ordered by his cruel admiral or surrender his mother's safety. The decision itself isn't difficult. It's living with the nightmares afterward. In the northern wilds, a druid conclave serves as one of the last bastions of resistance against the aggressive press of the empire of Andel-ce Hevra. What they don't know is that the city has already made its fatal move against them. An attack is coming, and the magic of Genevieve Vendanges is unequal to the task of protecting her home. Briseras Ravisthinia is without a home to protect, on the run from the empire and torn between two impossible quests-find the missing druid Fhaona or return to her cursed homeland and exact her revenge upon those who bound her into their service. A reluctant pirate, an unpromising druid, a renegade huntress, and a magically inclined traveler stand between the forces of darkness that would destroy their world. Uniting them all, a runaway noblewoman faces her destiny-she and she alone can save Azuria. If she fails herself, she fails them all.