The Shades have risen. Stone turns to flesh and the Veritas have fallen. Some new, dark force has taken hold of the Prime and a traitor is revealed. With the royal family’s enemies behind them, Zabe and the Princess finally dare to hope and look ahead to a strong new future for the Prime… but a pall hangs over the castle. The traitor in their midst was never found. Jenner may have murdered Zabe’s father, but he couldn’t have been the mole; too many unknowns cast a long shadow. Diplomatic relations with the Vyrm seem largely positive but negotiations break down when the unspeakable monstrosity that mars the sky of the Desolation realm suddenly disappears. Is it a hopeful sign or a grim portent? And what of the Followers of Maetha? Despite their slaughter at the hands of the Tarkhun, the fringe Rovers have begun a pilgrimage to Limbus. A creeping dark unlike anything Zabe and Claire have faced before reaches up from the grave—and it feels tainted by the Devourer Agod. Something new and terrible plagues the realms. Secrets are revealed, prophecies are fulfilled, and an entire dimension is destroyed in its wake.