A kingdom on the brink
The dust settles over the ruins where the first Shadow Castle struck, and now the Dalrian clans are holding their breath as a second ghostly tower rises on the capital’s east side. Selecting the only people with experience in engaging these things, the Ban-Righ despatches Artemis Macintyre and James Guthrie to research the new anomaly and find the cardinal key that could close it. But around them, other forces are not idle because whoever controls the keys controls the Shadow Castles, and whoever controls the Shadow Castles controls the future.
As Mercia humiliates the Dalrian leadership for their aborted attack, her surviving agents are repositioning for the next stage of this dangerous dance. And in a race to obtain a key, hidden amongst the castles of Aberdeenshire, the next battle will be won or lost.
Meanwhile, Lydia is patiently sifting the evidence. Talking to the king’s old allies, she’s searching for evidence he really is the saviour foretold by the thirteenth portent. Taking her theories to the Ban-Righ, she finds Catriona Macallister has discovered a potential culprit for these attacks. He’s rich, and he’s dangerous, and when he bolts for cover among Dalria’s remotest isles, Catriona selects the only team with skills for the risky mission ahead.
Genre: Science Fiction