K. Eason Boeken

The Illhari Republic teeters on the edge of war…Rival godsworn battle in Illharek’s streets. In the fields and forests, a dragon-led army plots its attack. With powerful allies in the Senate and the Academy trying to maintain order, Snow and Veiko make plans to confront the god’s avatar. But as the army--and the dragon--bear down on Illharek, a godsworn assassin shatters the city’s fragile peace. As their alliances start to crack, Snow and Veiko find themselves fighting a war on two fronts.Because this isn’t a battle for Illharek’s streets, it’s a battle for Illharek’s soul.

On the border of the Illhari Republic…Snowdenaelikk, conjuror and heretic, lives on the edge of the Republic--and the law--as a cartel enforcer. Then a smuggling deal goes bad, a village burns, and she finds herself on the wrong side of a legion patrol.Veiko Nyrikki is an outlaw and an outlander, just trying to survive……until his sense of honor--and his ax--get between Snow and the legion. Now he’s got new enemies and new allies and survival’s gotten complicated. But Snow and Veiko soon discover the legion is the least of their problems.The Republic is built on the bones of a banished dragon god, and she has come back for revenge.

"Snowdenaelikk never planned to return to the city of Illharek, but that was before the siege in Cardik, before the violent and once-forgotten goddess Tal'Shik came looking for revenge at the head of a Taliri army. The only people who can save the Republic are Snow, her partner Veiko, and the highborn scout Dekklis. Together they mean to muster the power of the Senate and leverage the arcane knowledge of the Academy's Archives. Once in the city, however, they discover the situation is already dire. A rash of disappearances among highborn men and the resurgence of old heresies suggest that Tal'Shik's godsworn have already infiltrated the city. When Veiko is added to the ranks of the missing, Snow is done waiting. She brokers a deal with a rival god to get the power she needs to stop Tal'Shik. But Snow has never been good at making bargains, and this deal is going to cost her"--Page 4 of cover.