Freedom can be perilous for a royal on the run.

Still reeling from their harrowing escape from Rengon Castle, Annabelle and her friends turn their hopes for salvation to Eìrlan, King Leo, and the enigmatic Eìrlani High Council.

Though Karolina, the Seer of the Council, is grateful for the safe return of her son, the prince, the rest of the Council is not convinced that the daughter of their enemy can be trusted.

Meanwhile, across the sea in Dunea, a witch hunt has begun, the likes of which hasn’t been seen in Dunea for two hundred and fifty years—at least, that is what Ronan Barrick would have the people believe. Ronan sits at the right hand of the new queen, Emilia Adalara, as she hunts for witches to add to her secret army while mistrust and unrest spread through the kingdom. Ronan’s power and influence prove the perfect companion to the queen’s influence, which she uses to turn the Dunean court to her will.

But the queen has not managed to ensnare everyone. The Duchess and Lord Asby, ejected from their seats in the cabinet by the new queen, flee to the Black Mountain. There, they begin to muster the force necessary to reclaim Dunea, even as rumors reach them of a darkness in the north, of the true threat that Emilia poses to their beloved kingdom.

As winter looms, and the danger grows, the Duchess becomes certain of only one thing: Annabelle must return, or Dunea may be lost forever.