Symir—the Drowning City. home to exiles and expatriates, pirates and smugglers. And violent revolutionaries who will stop at nothing to overthrow the corrupt Imperial government. For Isyllt Iskaldur, necromancer and spy, the brewing revolution is a chance to prove herself to her crown. All she has to do is find and finance the revolutionaries, and help topple the palaces of Symir. But she is torn between her new friends and her duties, and the longer she stays in this monsoon-drenched city, the more intrigue she uncovers—even the dead are plotting. As the waters rise and the dams crack, Isyllt must choose between her mission and the city she came to save.

Death is no stranger in the city of Erisén—but some deaths attract more attention than others. When a prostitute dies carrying a royal signet, Isyllt Iskaldur, necromancer and agent of the Crown, is called to investigate. Her search leads to desecrated tombs below the palace, and the lightless vaults of the vampiric vrykoloi deep beneath the city. But worse things than vampires are plotting in Erisén. . . As a sorcerous plague sweeps the city and demons stalk the streets, Isyllt must decide who she's prepared to betray, before the city built on bones falls into blood and fire.

With her master dead and her oaths foresworn, necromancer and spy Isyllt Iskaldur finds herself in exile. Hounded by assassins, she seeks asylum in Assar, the empire she so recently worked to undermine. Warlords threaten the empire's fragile peace, and the empress is beset by enemies within the court. Even worse, darkness stirs in the deep desert. Ancient spirits long held captive are waking—spirits that can destroy Assar faster than any army. Accompanied by an outcast jinn, Isyllt must travel into the heart of the desert to lay the darkness there to rest once more. But her sympathies are torn between the captive spirits and the order of mages sworn to bind them. And whichever choice she makes could raze the empire to dust.

Savedra Severos is no stranger to intrigue. Mistress to the King of Selafai and daughter of a rival noble house, she navigates the treacheries of court with every breath. On the eve of delicate peace talks, the court mage is found murdered. As Savedra investigates, she stumbles further into a web of secrets that enmeshes three kingdoms—entangling spies and sorcerers, lovers and enemies, strangers and kin. Among those secrets are Savedra’s own, dangerous enough to destroy her king and her family if they come to light. Traitors walk the palace halls, but the danger is more than political. Spirits prowl the city. Once a force of justice, now they seek only retribution—and they prey on those with blood on their hands. In a court fueled by schemes and secrets, not even Savedra is safe from their venomous touch. "...some of the best fantasy politics/intrigue/spies/murder I have ever had the pleasure of reading." ~ Liz Bourke, Sleeps With Monsters "Amanda Downum spins political intrigue and gorgeous prose with grace and style. Get this book into your eyeballs." ~ Marshall Ryan Maresca, author of the Maradaine Sequence "Luxurious elegance and gloriously sharp dangers fill Amanda Downum's The Poison Court. As with every Downum book, readers will revel in beautifully rendered characters and elegant court machinations. What sets The Poison Court above the rest of its kind is the depth of feeling and intrigue in a setting where the past returns to betray the present; where entire fortunes can crumble on a simple taste, a slight glance, or a mere regret. Such a deft touch requires great skill and Downum never falters, nor does she ever turn her searing gaze away from the innermost secrets of The Poison Court." ~ Fran Wilde, author of Riverland and the Bone Universe novels