Historian and horseman Aidryn Tarlach has spent his entire nineteen years waging one silent battle after another. The city archive is the only refuge he’s ever known, but even that begins to unravel. Suddenly, he finds himself struggling to hold onto everything he’s fought for. Aidryn is stretched thin among the interests and people he’s spent years trying to protect. His family is bent on controlling the throne. His closest friend, Silira Mór, is oblivious to his feelings for her—and is set to inherit a coveted magic she doesn’t believe in. Even worse, the city’s young ruler, Rí Eremon, has set his sights on Lira. Set two years before the events of Defender of Histories, Ballad of Stallions follows Aidryn to the heartbreaking decisions he must make to protect Lira and secure Iathium’s future.