In the second volume of the Fourth Talisman series, Nazafareen's path takes a twist, setting her on a journey into the heart of the maelstrom... It's been a thousand years since the Avas Vatras tried to burn the world to ashes. A thousand years since they were imprisoned in the brutal wasteland called the Kiln. But revenge is a dish best served cold-even, apparently, by the children of fire. In Delphi, Nazafareen joins forces with the followers of Dionysius to rescue her friends from the Oracle's dungeons and seek out the three talismans whose extraordinary powers stopped the Vatras before. With her own breaking magic growing stronger by the day, she must walk a razor's edge to control her volatile temper. And if the Vatras find the talismans first, their last hope will die. In the frozen wastes of the Valkirin range, Victor Dessarian strikes an uneasy bargain with bitter enemies to keep his tenuous grip on the Maiden Keep. The other holdfasts are coming for him. But it's a traitor within Val Moraine's walls that may prove to be his downfall.… (more)