A Missing King.A Vanished City.A Kingdom About to Collapse. Lieutenant Asher Wulverman can’t make any sense of how the city of Valenda disappeared overnight, with the Royal Family still inside, but it’s not his job to figure it out. He’s only here to keep the peace. Between a scandal dividing high-society nobles, a town ready to revolt, and a childhood friend stirring uncomfortable emotions, Asher has his work cut out for him.  Except the forces behind everything are older than the Kingdom, and they’re impossible to comprehend. Asher quickly finds himself the next target, thrust into a forbidden world of monsters and old magic. His only help in this fatal land comes from a mysterious man going by Penn, a man whose eyes catch fire, who is using Asher as much as he is helping him.  Only a person willing to make unspeakable sacrifices can become the last hope of humanity in the face of this ancient evil, but the more Asher fights to save those he loves, the more he risks losing himself.