The fifth Fortress novel picks up more than a decade after the tumultuous events of Fortress of Dragons. Cefwyn is a mature King who begins to reap the harvest he planted at the beginning of the series. His two sons are of an age, both in their early teens. One is legitimate, the other a bastard. Though a scion of a murderous lineage, Cefwyn has let his bastard son and the bastard’s mother live. Against all expectation, his sons are thick as thieves, despite the fact they represent competing claims to dynastic power. Cherryh here deftly sets the stage for a new round of chicanery, politics, and magics dire—for the arch foe of the series is apparently still lurking in the shadows.

(Source: Eos)