Sometimes your best ally is your worst enemy. As the next phase in Lachlan Shade’s plan unfolds, Harlow Fletcher seeks a cure for a friend, Kayda Verdan hunts for a stranger, and Felix Turner gets sucked into a cold case. Each endeavor is tied to the Shades and their goal of dismantling the hub system at large. Harlow, Kayda, and Felix must cast aside their deep-seated assumptions and forge connections with unlikely allies—from sorcerers, to aves, to vampires. *** Renata Bernard had no skin in this game only days ago. Hells, she hadn’t known the game was even being played. Now, not only has she been pulled into a scheme Lachlan hatched while in exile, she’s also been pegged as the key to his success. Somehow, she must acquiesce to the unhinged elf’s demands without also bringing about the end of life as she knows it. She never would have thought being a scientist was this dangerous. *** The Shades are as eager as Lachlan to begin The Restoration. The Collective thwarted Lachlan’s efforts decades ago, and in spectacular fashion, he’ll admit, but he’d been young, dumb, and overly ambitious. He’s more powerful now. More driven. With elves, cast-outs, and vampires on his side, he’ll reshape the world or die trying—and if he fails this time, he vows to take the entire Goddess-forsaken realm down with him.