In a time of change and danger, peace sparks to war, and soms become daughters . . . It's nearly a century after the death of Inda, the unbeatable Marlovan commander. Danet and Arrow, content in their arranged marriage, just want to live in peaceful obscurity and raise their family. But when a treaty sends them to the royal city to meet the heir to the throne, they discover that peace is fragile, old enemies have long memories, and what you want isn't always what you get. By the time they learn that you can't go back again, events ignite a conflagration that no one could have foreseen-except for the ghosts who walk the walls in the royal city. This is the first half of an epic story of politics, war, family and magic in the beloved world of Sartorias-deles.