Celine Kiernan – författare

YOUNG WYNTER MOOREHAWKE RETURNS TO COURT WITH HER DYING FATHER. BUT HER OLD HOME IS CLOAKED IN FEAR. Once benevolent King Jonathon is now a violent despot, terrorising his people while his son Alberon plots a coup from exile. Then darkness spreads as the King appoints Alberon''s half-brother Razi as heir. Wynter must watch her friend obey his father''s untenable commands, as those they love are held to ransom. And at the heart of matters lies a war machine so lethal that none dare speak of it. The kingdom would belong to its master, yet the consequences of using it are too dire to consider. But temptation has ever been the enemy of reason.

Wynter is at last reunited with the exiled Prince Alberon, as he plots insurgency from his forest encampment. But she is losing faith with her companions, as they attempt to drive Alberon''s plans in different directions. Caught between Razi''s complex diplomacy, Alberon''s desire for martial strength and Christopher''s fierce personal loyalty, Wynter finds herself torn. Can she combine these philosophies, and find a way to heal the rift between king and heir? Or will each side destroy the other, causing Wynter to lose everything she holds dear? She fears the answers lie veiled in conflict and loss.

Wynter Moorehawke has fled the dangers of court for bandit-infested forests, seeking exiled prince Alberon. But more than just thieves lurk in these shadows. Every tyrant and zealot who has ever threatened the kingdom is sending emissaries to meet Alberon, whose motivations seem unclear.Razi and Christopher had also set out to track Alberon, and find Wynter as enemies close in. With a savage wolf clan on their heels, they must seek sanctuary with the nomadic Merron. But this leaves them enmeshed in a net of sinister black magics and forbidden ritual. Their safety and the kingdom''s future will depend on a web of alliances and hostilities. And Alberon and his war machine sit at its heart.