The raiding season might be over, but the court is a new threat on its own . . .

A victorious Oren, newly minted Lord Commander of the Mountain Guard, returns to the capital to receive the King's accolades and to ask for the one thing he wants as his prize—the right to marry the woman he loves.

But the court is a dangerous place, and nothing is as Oren expects when he arrives at his childhood home. The King is under pressure, and he has new demands for Oren that will test both his honor and his loyalty to the Crown.

When tragedy strikes before he can make his choice, more than his own life is on the line. There is a traitor at the heart of Westmere, and Oren must embrace a birthright he's spent his whole life trying to outpace to prevent a bloody war that will devastate the kingdom.

But who can he trust to help uncover the truth when he must suspect everyone's motives?