The Seven Kingdoms are in the grip of an ancient and terrible blood curse. Thousands have died; thousands more yet will. Only one man can end the curse: the fugitive Osgaardan prince and reluctant mage, Harkeld.The road to salvation is long and arduous. Harkeld has outrun his father's soldiers, but he can't hope to outrun the assassins – the notorious, deadly Fithians – clamouring for the bounty on his head. Even the Sentinel mages who guide and guard him are no match for Fithian steel. Faced with the ever-present threat of death, Harkeld must learn to use his fire magic, or die.Meanwhile, in Osgaard's gold-tiled palace, Harkeld's sister Princess Brigitta is living on borrowed time, hostage to their brother's ambition. And far to the east, young orphan Jaume journeys with a band of mysterious, dangerous fighters, heading north for a purpose he does not yet understand.
