After her victory over
Master Grey, Emily wants nothing more than to relax and give herself
time to recover from the duel. Her magic, pushed to the limits, is no
longer reliable, forcing her to learn to control it from scratch. Every
time she delays using her magic, she risks headaches... or worse. But
she must return to Whitehall to complete her fourth-year exams and bid
farewell to those of her friends who are not returning for fifth year.
And then, she must return to Zangaria to play her role in Princess
Alassa's wedding to Jade. It seems, if nothing else, a brief diversion
before she goes off on a tour of the Allied Lands.
But all is
not well in Zangaria and the kingdom is fast approaching a major crisis. Junior aristocrats are demanding their rights and titles from the king, while King Randor himself is dangerously unstable and hiding a secret
that could spark off a civil war... and the peasants are threatening to revolt. Emily herself is isolated, unsure how to balance her
obligations to her closest friends with her belief in freedom, justice
and democracy.
And, as Emily finds herself used as a political
pawn by the different sides in the growing dispute and no longer sure
who she can trust, she may find herself confronting a choice between
doing the right thing, regardless of the cost...
...And losing everything she's built over the past four years.
