In the gripping sequel to The Tainted Cup, brilliant detective Ana Dolabra returns in a race against time to solve an impossible crime. At the edge of the Empire in Yarrowdale, a Treasury officer vanishes from a locked room under constant guard. Called in to investigate, Ana and her assistant Dinios Kol soon uncover that this is no mere disappearance—it’s murder. The killer moves through warded doors like a ghost and seems to anticipate Ana’s every move. As the case deepens, all clues point toward the Shroud, a high-security compound where the Empire’s top minds study the blood of fallen Titans to power their volatile magic. If the Shroud falls, the Empire’s entire magical infrastructure could collapse. Ana has cracked many impossible cases before, but with an enemy always one step ahead and the future of the Empire at stake, even Din begins to fear she may have finally met her match. From the bestselling author of The Founders Trilogy, this is a dazzling new installment in a dark, inventive fantasy mystery series.
