In the new fantasy from the award-winning author of the Riddle-Master Trilogy, a young man comes of age amid family secrets and revelations, and transformative magic.
Hidden away from the world by his mother, the powerful sorceress Heloise Oliver, Pierce has grown up working in her restaurant in Desolation Point. One day, unexpectedly, strangers pass through town on the way to the legendary capital city. βLook for us,β they tell Pierce, βif you come to Severluna. You might find a place for yourself in King Ardenβs court.β
Lured by a future far away from the bleak northern coast, Pierce makes his choice. Heloise, bereft and furious, tells her son the truth: about his father, a knight in King Ardenβs court; about an older brother he never knew existed; about his fatherβs destructive love for King Ardenβs queen, and Heloiseβs decision to raise her younger son alone.
As Pierce journeys to Severluna, his path twists and turns through other lives and mysteries: an inn where ancient rites are celebrated, though no one will speak of them; a legendary local chef whose delicacies leave diners slowly withering from hunger; his mysterious wife, who steals Pierceβs heart; a young woman whose need to escape is even greater than Pierceβs; and finally, in Severluna, King Arden's youngest son, who is urged by strange and lovely forces to sacrifice his fatherβs kingdom.
Things are changing in that kingdom. Oldmagic is on the rise. The immensely powerful artifact of an ancient god has come to light, and the king is gathering his knights to quest for this profound mystery, which may restore the kingdom to its former gloryβor destroy it...
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