After a three-year siege, Lord Kern, the dark mage, is dead. Magic has left Tredare, and life is almost back to normal.

For everyone except Maren, that is.

Before the siege, an attack by Lord Kern left Maren near death and with a sliver of magic buried deep inside her. Now, for reasons Maren doesn't understand, that magic has been triggered, giving her the ability to "see" the truth: that her world is nothing more than a magical facade; and that the kingdom's hero may not be a hero at all.

But this gift of sight comes at a high cost. Maren is in constant pain, and fears her own...