This is not a stand-alone book but is volume 2 of the Rift series.The Aluian Killer continues to terrorize Torvia unopposed. Intent on conquest and unaware that his army harbors a Torvian spy, the Mistrin emperor invades the city with the blessing of its mad king and all but conquers it by law and edict. But when the king agrees to a tribute of Torvians to the Mistrin Empire, Prince Danielen knows the time has come for him to overthrow his father--and the draldur bardelains decide the time has come to kill the prince and Andrin Sethuel. As the astromancers search for the weapon that will crush their hated enemy, the Torvian resistance strikes against the emperor. War breaks out, pitting Torvians against Mistrins and one another and ripping loyalties apart. And Andrin's fate and the creature Rift's intertwine, hurtling Andrin toward a destiny that could destroy him.