Midwinter has gone, but that cold season has been replaced by a Cold War in the world of Faerie, and this new kind of war requires a new kind of warrior. Seelie forces drove back Empress Mab at the Battle of Sylvan, but hostilities could resume at any moment. Mab has developed a devastating new weapon capable of destroying an entire city, and the Seelie have no defense against it. If war comes, they will almost certainly be defeated.In response, Queen Titania reconstitutes a secret division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, unofficially dubbed the "Office of Shadow," imbuing it with powers and discretion once considered unthinkable. They are a group of covert operatives given the tasks that can't be done in the light of day: secretly stealing the plans for Mab's new WMD, creating unrest in the Unseelie Empire, and doing whatever is necessary to prevent an unwinnable war. The new leader of the "Shadows" is Silverdun. He's the nobleman who fought alongside Mauritane at Sylvan, and who help complete a critical mission for the Seelie Queen. His operatives include a lonely research thaumaturge with a comprehensive understanding of magic but little experience of the real world; a beautiful but naïve sorceress who possesses awesome powers that she must restrain in order to survive; and an amoral killer whose bargain with dark powers has left him with only months to live.They'll do whatever is required to prevent a total war: breach Empress Mab's floating city and retrieve the plans for her new weapon; blackmail a king into revolting against the Unseelie Empire; make a dangerous foray into a hostile land to uncover a closely guarded secret that may change the world. Meanwhile, Silverdun has some difficult choices to make. He's torn between two women: one gentle and kind, but with a dark past, the other ruthless and powerful but strangely irresistible. He struggles with his own conscience when he realizes the lengths he must go to in order to do his job; especially when the awful secret behind the weapon's power is revealed. He's forced to sacrifice his ideal of honor, one of the most sacred Fae virtues, and as a result he's forced to choose between his loyalty to his mission and his friendship with Mauritane, the only man he trusts.
Description:
Midwinter has gone, but that cold season has been replaced by a Cold War in the world of Faerie, and this new kind of war requires a new kind of warrior. Seelie forces drove back Empress Mab at the Battle of Sylvan, but hostilities could resume at any moment. Mab has developed a devastating new weapon capable of destroying an entire city, and the Seelie have no defense against it. If war comes, they will almost certainly be defeated.In response, Queen Titania reconstitutes a secret division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, unofficially dubbed the "Office of Shadow," imbuing it with powers and discretion once considered unthinkable. They are a group of covert operatives given the tasks that can't be done in the light of day: secretly stealing the plans for Mab's new WMD, creating unrest in the Unseelie Empire, and doing whatever is necessary to prevent an unwinnable war. The new leader of the "Shadows" is Silverdun. He's the nobleman who fought alongside Mauritane at Sylvan, and who help complete a critical mission for the Seelie Queen. His operatives include a lonely research thaumaturge with a comprehensive understanding of magic but little experience of the real world; a beautiful but naïve sorceress who possesses awesome powers that she must restrain in order to survive; and an amoral killer whose bargain with dark powers has left him with only months to live.They'll do whatever is required to prevent a total war: breach Empress Mab's floating city and retrieve the plans for her new weapon; blackmail a king into revolting against the Unseelie Empire; make a dangerous foray into a hostile land to uncover a closely guarded secret that may change the world. Meanwhile, Silverdun has some difficult choices to make. He's torn between two women: one gentle and kind, but with a dark past, the other ruthless and powerful but strangely irresistible. He struggles with his own conscience when he realizes the lengths he must go to in order to do his job; especially when the awful secret behind the weapon's power is revealed. He's forced to sacrifice his ideal of honor, one of the most sacred Fae virtues, and as a result he's forced to choose between his loyalty to his mission and his friendship with Mauritane, the only man he trusts.