A wounded king. An empire at risk. A vengeful god awakened.

Weary and scarred from the Burdikesh hordes, Jael and Pyx join the assault on Ruan, a subterranean metropolis of religious fanatics. Subduing the rebels will be difficult. Buried beneath the freezing Northern Mountains, a maze of defences, fearsome warriors, and giant war-spiders await the beast hunter and his protégé. And for Pyx, childhood memories will rise, driving a need for revenge that risks her very life.

Above ground, the king lies in a spell-induced coma, mortally wounded. Even with her father poised to cross Death’s Bridge, Princess Larika’s ascension to the throne is far from guaranteed. The traitorous Lord Revarc threatens civil war, while the mage, Pollux, creates a weapon of terror that imperils the balance of man and nature.

But such problems will become trivial. For beneath the mountain, an arachnid god wakens. A god with a lust for blood and terror. A god who would see the empire burn.