The King is dead. The Oluso rebel. War is here. With the end of Alistair Sorenson’s tyrannical reign, Dèmi has accepted Jonas’s proposal to rule as his Queen with hopes to finally free her people, the magical Oluso. Yet social prejudice, corrupt council members, and the continued distrust of the nonmagical Ajès throughout the kingdom prove seemingly implacable obstacles. To make matters worse, Dèmi struggles to control her newly awakened iron blood magic. As Ekwensi’s rebel army—led in part by Colin, her best friend and one-time lover—become more triumphant in their mission, war seems inevitable. Before long, a new evil appears that hunts Oluso and Ajè alike, promising desolation on a larger level than ever before. When the failed assassination puts the life of Dèmi’s loved one in danger as well as the future of the Oluso into question, Dèmi embarks on a treacherous journey to find an ancestral spirit whose aid could tip the scales in her favor. Whether her new powers will destroy the