War is no longer coming. It is here.

Mar is no longer the nameless thief who clawed his way out of the streets—he is king, warlord, and the most dangerous force in a world that fears what it does not understand. With a skyship at his command and magic no one else can wield, he has taken the fight directly to the Brotherhood of Phaelle. And he is winning.

But victory has a cost. Each battle pushes him further from the boy he once was and deeper into something harder, colder—something forged for war. His enemies adapt. New powers rise. And somewhere beyond the battlefield, forces that hunt magic itself begin to take notice.

As empires collide and the rules of magic begin to fracture, Mar must decide what he is willing to become to win. Because some wars are not fought to survive. They are fought to end the world that came before.