When Knights attack the temple of Skystead, seventeen-year-old Pela is the only one to escape. Her mother and the other villagers are taken, accused of worshiping the False Gods. They will pay the ultimate price – unless Pela can rescue them. Pela has never left the safety of her town, let alone touched a sword. What chance does she have against the ruthless Knights of Alana? She’s not a hero. But she knows one. Her uncle Devon was a mighty warrior once, in times when magic filled the world. Age has withered his strength and he retired long ago, but maybe he will answer the call of family. Can Pela convince him to stand against the darkness one last time?

Enslaved in the mines of Lonia, Pela has forgotten the last time she saw the sun. For days uncounted she has toiled, scorned by her captors, forgotten. Her jailers think her cowed, but the blood of a warrior flows in her veins. When a new overseer arrives, Pela sees an opportunity. The man is young and untrained – he could easily be deceived. Meanwhile, the Plorsean King has been cast down. Supported by the Knights of Alana, his wife has seized the crown and plunged the nation into chaos. But the king is not dead yet. His champion slain, his throne usurped by the woman he loved, Braidon has nothing left but his rage. What better weapon to use against his treacherous wife?

High in the mountains, Pela and Ruebyn have finally escaped the deadly Knights of Alana. But the future remains uncertain, their only way forward the forbidden lands of Trola. Buoyed by their recent victory, Pela is confident they can overcome whatever lies ahead. When they find the Trolan countryside empty, its villages abandoned, they realise nothing is as it seems in the western nation. There is an evil on the air, an ancient darkness that neither sword nor magic can fight. Meanwhile, King Braidon has earned a victory against his treacherous wife and her zealous Knights. If only the war could be so easily won. Marianne still holds the capital, and has magic enough to conquer the Three Nations. Braidon must gather the forces of good beneath his banner, and fast, before the queen can march on his stronghold. The finale to the Knights of Alana trilogy by author Aaron Hodges