Acclaimed Inda series within Sherwood Smith's epic fantasy Sartorias-deles universe • Military fantasy woven with courtly politics, vast worldbuilding, and diverse characters After nine years of exile on the sea, Inda returned home to protect his country from attack by an ancient enemy. His boyhood best friend Evred, a formerly powerless younger prince, was now king?and made Inda his Royal Shield Arm, commander in chief of the defense against the invading Venn, and Inda had to learn how to fight on land while marching north to battle. He's home now, but the Venn, having retreated, are returning to the attack, this time on the sea. They are planning the largest naval attack in history, and the first line of defense is in a critically strategic strait in the north. Control of this strait has been contested for generations, often with violent conflicts, and Inda will need strong allies to overcome the Venn. Even with these allies, Inda is severely disadvantaged and outnumbered. Can Inda, military genius but only one man, find a way to defeat the powerful navy of the Venn and bring peace to his battered homeland at last?and then what is he to do with Evred's orders to take control of the strait away from his allies? In this last volume in the Inda saga, there are not just military but moral conflicts, questions of the power of beauty, shared tears and laughter.