Vicente is an up-and-coming ambassador and the first magic-user trained by the Crown--unfortunately making him a pawn in the power struggle between the queen and the other magic wielders. Desperate for freedom, he agrees to mediate a land dispute in an isolated town.

He assembles a trusted team, but the queen forces them to bring along Iver: a dangerous mercenary, intent on pushing Vicente to his breaking point. Loyalties are strained from the outset, and in a town that seethes with old grudges, one misstep could ignite something irreversible. Even with the odds stacked against them, Vicente still believes they can make it work.

But Vicente has a secret: his magic gives him a surge of euphoria, and he's becoming addicted to it. When a string of brutal murders unsettles the town, Vicente must navigate his deteriorating self-control while working with his crew to keep the peace. However, Iver has a mission of his own--one that, if successful, will destroy everything Vicente is fighting for.

That is, if Vicente doesn't destroy himself first.

ISABELLE TÖRNQVIST grew up on Sweden's windswept west coast. By day, she's a software developer; by night, a fantasy and horror writer conjuring strange worlds and stranger gods. She lives in a countryside cottage with her parrot, Ava, who insists on being part of the creative process.