Chains of Rebirth (Dusk Series - Book 8)

Lyra Cinder is cast out from the Fort, the largest remaining training settlement for human mages outside of the Alliance. Without a killer extinct and far too much use of her conscience, she is of no use to the mages who have refused peace with their vampire neighbors. With a band of misfits and Fort rejects, Lyra sets out on a journey to find her place as well as a meaning to all of the fighting around her. It seems like a straight forward path until Lyra comes back from a supply run to find the boys have made sport of kicking around a stray vampire. Though she wishes to release him, the sharpness of his ice eyes cuts right into her soul even shackled and beaten on the ground. This stranger could just be the death of all of them, or perhaps he could be her destiny.

When Lyra runs face first into the carnage caused by a notorious masked murder known only as The Fool, she is helpless to stop him from slaughtering the soldiers of the Zero rebellion. Though the Zero started as a vampire-hating group that threw society to the brink of extinction, most now are just humans run from their homes in times of war and desperate for shelter or food and willing to fight for it. The world is brittle and broken, and Lyra finds herself walking the same path as The Fool, whether it be breaking bread or chasing him down to stop his rampage. On that path, she meets allies, a man she loves even though their chances are slim, and she hopes that all of them can find a way to peace.