Juljana's hopes lay in ruin when she learns that Maia will wed Hephestia's brother, Damian, and that the high camp has been captured by Aeropos's forces. Not realizing that it was Maia's compliance which has released them from Gaius's tyranny, she and Lucilla have already taken steps to secure another heir to the Ardianian throne. Struggling to comprehend Maia's decision, Stefan attempts to confront her when she returns home to oversee her parent's divorce. But a tragic turn of events puts Maia's life in peril and pits Gaius against him, setting off the first of many challenges he must...