Sometimes the safest place is in the midst of danger. Darkmages die. Everyone knew this. Everyone accepted it…except her. Meet Valentina, the last member of the Forza bloodline, a darkmage and granddaughter of Alfonse Forza—one of the most powerful and infamous Darkmages to walk the earth. Until he disappeared without a trace. The last known location of the Eclipse was inside the Mage Directorate Headquarters. She must now infiltrate the Directorate, locate the missing Eclipse, and somehow escape with her life. Everything was going as planned, until her plan ran into Xander Ashford—Enforcer Xander Ashford, who has sworn to kill darkmages. Now, Valentina must unleash her dormant darkmage powers, find and recover the Eclipse all while evading the Directorate and Inquisitor Emery, the lead mage who controls a relentless group of mage enforcers who follow only one law when it comes to darkmages. Darkmages die.

Just when it seems things can’t get worse—they get worse. Val needs to infiltrate the Directorate in an effort to get more information on the missing Eclipse—the cursed blade of Alfonse Forza, her grandfather. Unknown to her, deep in the most secure Directorate vault, sits the Brightshadow—the weapon darkmage Archon Quinn used in his fatal battle to stop Alfonse, and the key to her accessing the Eclipse, her birthright. No one ever said it would be easy. Now, together with her familiar, she must find a way to enter the Directorate vault, secure the Brightshadow, and somehow manage to escape with her life. All while hiding her identity as a darkmage.

El poder fluye hacia el propósito, no hacia el deseo. La mano que puede destruir, debe construir. Val alberga el poder de Sombra Brillante en su interior. Un poder demasiado grande para que ella lo controle. Tras escapar del Cuartel General del Directorio con Mel y Xander, Val encontró su camino hacia las Tumbas y hacia Alala—una Maestra Instructora de Magos Oscuros. Una instructora que puede enseñarle las Habilidades. Solo hay un problema. Alala ha jurado no volver a enseñar a otro mago oscuro. Especialmente no a una que se apellide Forza. Ahora enfrenta una elección. ¿Le enseñará a Val las Habilidades y la equipará para empuñar Sombra Brillante—la clave para encontrar el Eclipse? ¿O se negará, condenando a Val a una muerte horrible a manos del Directorio?