For the first time in history, an empire of muskets and cannons is gaining ground in the war against living, breathing gods. Entire armies have been massacred in a conflict which, at times, seems to be absurdly worth it. Thousands of miles away, the principality of Moqara lies on the verge of being crushed by every neighbor around them. At the center of the crisis are reports that the empire has set its sights on acquiring the oasis city at any cost, convinced that its trade lines may be the key to securing victory for the human race. A former resident, Kes, stumbles through the Moqaran desert, barely alive, carrying a message no one wants to hear: one of the gods wants to defect to the human side. It is not known who the message is intended for, and the only person who can vouch for Kes, Lazden Dadario of the Prince's Guard, doesn't trust a word she says.

Alternate Cover Edition of ASIN [B073VRV5QN](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36226253-shadows-reach) The land is in crisis. A diplomat from Tryste arrives in Moqara with the offer of an alliance, only to be arrested for treason before the day is done. As he stands trial, the only man who can speak in his defense is murdered. But did the killer strike to protect a secret or to gain leverage over one of Moqara’s most powerful families? Reina Dadario, Captain of the Prince’s Guard, hunts for an assassin who was thought to have been executed by the Guard years before. A killer she had arrested herself. Beyond the border, the neighboring city of Eresdel falls to civil war. As a fanatical new ruler throws the region into unending chaos, Prince Andraz sends a spy to form a resistance, one which needs to act swiftly if it is to challenge the Empire when it arrives. But of all those sworn to obey his every command, what would the Prince have to gain from sending in Reina Dadario’s only son?