The dark caster, Silenos, has conquered a kingdom and installed a princess as his puppet—but will an unseen force prove more powerful than his magic?

With his monstrous army behind him, the caster Silenos has driven the king of Fadaka from his throne and left his palace in ruins. He then selects the deposed king's horrified daughter, Ado, as the kingdom's new ruler. Or, more precisely, his puppet. Her simpleminded subjects can labor under the illusion that they're free while Silenos sets to work radically reshaping this wretched civilization.

With her father trapped and conscious within a hideous form, Ado has no choice but to obey or risk the same fate herself. But Silenos's victory may be short lived. News arrives with the sky captain Swick that the Dark Lord is leading his reanimates toward Kaltan once again . . . and possibly Fadaka next. And beneath the caster's contempt and ice-cold calculation, the captive king can sense a crack in his emotional armor.

If that crack were to widen, the resulting collapse could spell either freedom or doom to the kingdom. Silenos can feel the change within as he finds himself wracked with alien and deeply irrational feelings. He doesn't yet know if these unfamiliar sentiments serve his ultimate purpose. As bloody chaos descends, will they become a useful weapon—or a fatal weakness?

The second volume of the hit progression-fantasy series—with more than 500,000 views on Royal Road—now available in paperback, ebook, and audiobook!