The gods left a secret. Jax needs to find it before Oracle’s time runs out. Returning to Dravith should have been a victory. Jax has claimed Ashen Heart, reunited with his forces, and finally understands what he’s truly fighting—Xenefier, an enemy older than the gods themselves, holding Oracle and their unborn child captive. But understanding the threat and stopping it are two very different things. The gods predecessors knew they might fail in their final battle. So they hid something—knowledge, power, and secrets from those that would come after, in the hope that when the threat rose again, so too would a new hope. All of it locked away in the Library of Souls, anchored to the realm by six ancient sites scattered across multiple continents. If Jax can find and unlock those anchors, he might gain the power he needs. But the high elf city of Albens guards more than just ancient secrets—it’s dying, besieged by slavers who’ve been murdering children. And when negotiations with fragment bearer Lisandra reveal the price of alliance, Jax discovers that sometimes the hardest battles aren’t against gods or monsters. They’re against the clock. Split forces. Ancient secrets. And a debt paid in blood.