Book Six of The Longsword Chronicles.

With the Orbquest bound for Calhaneth, Elayeen is left alone but for her friends in Tarn. Ancient compulsions inflicted by Sword and Circle still demand to be heard, and spies are everywhere. Hunted by Morloch and by a Toorseneth bent on vengeance for the loss of the Sceptre and the return of the Sight, Elayeen flees Tarn, hoping to draw her enemies from her friends, and hoping her enemies will expend what resources they possess in a fruitless search for the Queen of Raheen.

With only Meeya and Valin for company, Elayeen embarks on the journey south, a journey which, she believes, will end with her facing the single most important decision of her life.

But the warnings of elder times should never be ignored. Elayeen is riding into dangers far greater than those she fled in Tarn, and the path she has chosen can only lead to the end of Elayeen Rhiannon Seraneth ní Varan Raheen.