Control the Ink, Control the World

Fresh off his alliance with the dragon hunters and defeat of Farston Leamina, Baz rushes back to Erstwhile with dire tidings for his brother—the Indomitable Army is on its way to crush the upstart government he's established there. Of course, as soon as Baz arrives, things start to go south. Erstwhile remains in ruins from the Battle of the Book Dragons, and Tax seems to have spent more time plotting assassinations than building a new society. Then Baz is arrested.

Life in Erstwhile hasn't been easy since it was laid to waste by the Book Dragons. Before that, Annel was just an angry youth seeking retribution for the wrongs done to her by an uncaring society. Then Oges was killed and Baztian left her in charge of Erstwhile's rebel underground. She hates Baztian for that—Annel had doubts aplenty before she had the lives of hundreds of people to worry over. Forget rebellion, it's been difficult enough keeping everyone fed. Compounding matters are the scars of her past, which linger just below the surface and threaten to ruin everything.

When the Conservators attack, Baz and Annel begrudgingly unite to give the rebellion a fighting chance. Their plan? An audacious heist, one they hope will net them the key to creating new Spoken Books. But their strategy holds dilemmas aplenty. Annel must face the man who ruined her childhood and still haunts her memories, while Baz is pitted against Leanna, the woman he loves and leader of his enemies. Return to the land of Oration and discover if Baz and Annel can overcome their demons and save Oration's rebellion from annihilation!