In the shadowed halls of The Cloistered City, Petra returns home, but her heart remains restless. The battle at Mynydd Fort has left Rand battered and scarred: mentally and physically. His body is marked by fiery tattoos that torment him, pushing him closer to the brink of madness every waking moment:
A Sacrifice for his Sacred.

Despite his presence, he is distant, lost in a haze of pain and despair, and Petra's attempts to comfort him seem futile. Meanwhile, the rising threat of Empress Sunniva casts a dark cloud over the city.

Once beneath her notice, Sunniva now seethes with hatred toward Petra for her role in defeating her homeland, and toward Rand, whose own oblations have fueled her wrath. The empress's lust for Rand's power and her vendetta threaten to tear Petra and Rand apart, forcing Petra into impossible choices.
The sacred bond of sacrifice that once united them spirals out of control.

And it only seems to get worse.

Petra, desperate to free Rand from his eternal torment, seeks a forbidden cure offered by the emperor—an intoxicating potion that promises healing no matter the severity but demands a terrible price: herself.

A sacrifice for her sacred love.

As darkness closes in, Petra's love is tested to its breaking point.
Sacrifice becomes her only hope, but at what cost?

Find out! Hope flickers at the brink of burning out, fragile and fleeting, in a city teetering on the edge of ruin, where every move has an unparalleled sacrifice to be made.
Book Two of The Kismet Trilogy.