Last summer, Rose Trewin delivered a dying Light Horse's message to King Micah, and found herself entangled in court politics and plots. She'd stopped the coup and saved the king, but in doing so, she'd exposed her magic and her past. She still didn't understand her changing powers and now her past as an assassin haunts her even more. Worse, the shadows seem to want something from her. She intends to discover what, even if that means leaving her newfound home. Feeling lost and wayward, Rose ventures to the college in search of explanations about her magic.

War is threatening King Micah's southern border. His council continues to push him to choose a queen, reminding him too often of his lack of an heir. He hesitates as he re a young woman with defiance in her eyes and the friendship that's grown between them.

A new enemy with unseen magic is destroying the countryside and searching for an ancient weapon. The fighting in the south soon appears connected to this new enemy. Rose and King Micah must search the forgotten past for a way to stop him before he can destroy everything they hold dear.