Princess Ilyra Vael has spent weeks at the kingdom's frontier, inspecting cracked ward-stones and the frayed nerves of soldiers bracing for winter. But the true danger isn't on the border-it waits in the Star Chamber. Summoned back to the palace of Auralis and denied even a moment to wash the mud from her riding boots, Ilyra steps into a court steeped in unnatural dread. The halls are stripped of laughter, replaced by unusual sentries and hushed fear. When the bronze doors of the windowless council room finally open, Ilyra faces Queen Sarethe, the Lord Chancellor, and the realm's highest ministers. They look at the princess as though she has arrived late to her own execution. Treaties are strangled or born in this cold room, and as the border's old enchantments fade, Ilyra must discover what the kingdom is preparing to sacrifice to survive.