Tahir, Sabaa

Beyond the Empire and within it, the threat of war looms ever larger as the Blood Shrike, Helene Aquilla, Laia of Serra, and Elias Veturius all face increasing dangers.

The Blood Shrike, Helene Aquilla, is assailed on all sides. Emperor Marcus, haunted by his past, grows increasingly unstable, while the Commandant capitalizes on his madness to bolster her own power... the lives of all those in the Empire hang in the balance. Far to the east, Laia of Serra knows the fate of the world lies in stopping the Nightbringer. But while hunting for a way to bring him down, Laia drawn into a battle she never thought she'd have to fight. And in the land between the living and the dead, Elias Veturius has given up his freedom to serve as Soul Catcher. He has vowed himself to an ancient power that will stop at nothing to ensure Elias's devotion-- even at the cost of his humanity.

"Elias and Laia are running for their lives. Following the events of the Fourth Trial, an army led by Masks hunts the two fugitives as they escape the city of Serra and journey across the vast lands of the Martial Empire. Laia is determined to break into Kauf--the Empire's most secure and dangerous prison--and save her brother, whose knowledge of Serric steel is the key to the Scholars' future. And Elias is determined to stay by Laia's side...even if it means giving up his own chance at freedom. But Elias and Laia will have to fight every step of the way if they're going to outsmart their enemies... Helene's mission is horrifying, unwanted, and clear: find the traitor Elias Veturius and the Scholar slave who helped him escape...and kill them both"--Provided by publisher.

When her brother is arrested for treason, Laia goes undercover as a slave at the empire's greatest military academy in exchange for the assistance of rebel Scholars in saving him from execution.

"Laia is a Scholar living under the iron-fisted rule of the Martial Empire. When her brother is arrested for treason, Laia goes undercover as a slave at the empire's greatest military academy in exchange for assistance from rebel Scholars who claim that they will help to save her brother from execution"--.

Laia and Elias fight their way north to liberate Laia's brother from the horrors of Kauf Prison, a mission that is complicated by hunting Empire soldiers, the manipulations of the Commandant, and lingering ghosts from their pasts.

In a brutal empire modeled on ancient Rome, Elias, an unwilling solder-in-training, and Laia, who has embarked on a desperate ruse to save her condemned brother, must decide where their loyalties lie when fate brings them together.

"Laia is a Scholar living under the iron-fisted rule of the Martial Empire. When her brother is arrested for treason, Laia goes undercover as a slave at the empire's greatest military academy in exchange for assistance from rebel Scholars who claim that they will help to save her brother from execution"--Provided by publisher.

"Laia is a Scholar living under the iron-fisted rule of the Martial Empire. When her brother is arrested for treason, Laia goes undercover as a slave at the empire's greatest military academy in exchange for assistance from rebel Scholars who claim that they will help to save her brother from execution"--.

In a brutal empire modeled on ancient Rome, Elias, an unwilling solder-in-training, and Laia, who has embarked on a desperate ruse to save her condemned brother, must decide where their loyalties lie when fate brings them together.