Calene, Princess of Blackstone, lives a sheltered life at the palace, unable to go outside as she pleases for fear of the king’s enemies. Her only form of release is the highly-taboo Old Lore: the stories of when man and dragon were allies. Nowadays those stories are forgotten, lost to the flow of time, the dragons thought to be driven to extinction—until one shows up and kidnaps her brother Terran, the heir to the throne.
Calene, frantic to save her brother, disguises herself and escapes from the palace, seeking the aid of the wise dragons she’d heard in the stories. Instead she finds Vear, a sullen, mean-tempered dragon. Bitter and stubborn, he forces her to contract with him: he will help her find her brother but she must serve him until he decides to free her. Desperate for help, she agrees, though his temper and ferocity frighten her. Along with Fayn—a dragoness and Vear’s tutor—and Kieran—a young man who wishes to serve in Blackstone’s Royal Guard—they go to where Terran has been kidnapped: the desert palace of Vrandor.
Dragonstone burns, engulfed in Sansa's wildfire as flames lap at the walls and the ground trembles beneath the awakening volcano. Daario risks everything to smuggle Daenerys away from King's Landing before Sansa can arrest her - or destroy her hatchlings. Jon barely escapes the inferno, fleeing the island as the kingdom teeters on the edge of chaos.
Across the sea, Arya Stark seethes with bloodlust. The Dragon Queen still lives, and her little brother is dead. Vengeance drives her relentless hunt. But Arya is not alone - a shadow follows her, unseen, and the price of the Many-Faced God hangs over every step she takes.
In a realm fractured by war, plague, and betrayal, the dead and the living alike must confront fire, ambition, and the destiny promised to a prince yet to rise.