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.