Steel is honest. Blood is timeless. The Cycles repeat.

For centuries, the Kingdom of Alcia was a bastion of peace and songs. It took a single night for the songs to stop.

The King has vanished. In his wake, the Grey Army pours into the kingdom—a force that does not shout, does not pillage, and leaves no dead. They are not here to conquer. They are here to harvest the Tithe: a collection of human life to fuel a magic the world has forgotten.

While the High Marshal fights a hopeless war against an enemy led by a man that cannot exist, Cedrik Theramond must navigate a kingdom that has rendered him obsolete. His mission: rescue the Queen from the border city of Tarsis.

But Brighid is not the leader the kingdom expects. Hunted by officers and unimaginable horrors who wield the Gift as a weapon, she and Cedrik are guided by a scholar who knows the terrifying history of the First Cycle. The Queen must transform from a symbol of peace into a commander of war.

As the violet Spires rise and the ancient "Song of Stones" begins to fade, the survivors of Alcia discover a horrific truth: The First Cycle didn't end because the magic vanished. It ended because the price became too high.

Now, a new debt must be paid with the blood of the innocent.