"I would choose you in this and every lifetime, whatever the dictates of fate." Iellieth Amastacia's magic is failing her. And her enemy holds the power she was meant to claim. Deep within the northern forests of the Elven Realms lies the passage to the shadow market-a place between worlds where the rarest artifacts await those daring enough to seek them. Iellieth must reach the market and find the lost shard of the seal piece of earth, her one remaining hope to restore the planar seal. But Lucien's taunts haunt her steps, whispering of a terrible truth buried in her companions' past-what her champions sacrificed and who they sacrificed it for. The failure in Gaia's Glade has cost more than her quest. Lucien's poison swirls through her veins, compromising her magic, but the half-elf presses on through the forest. Her friends, her world, are counting on her, and she does not face the darkness alone. Marcon fights at her side, bound to her by the amulet's ancient magic and by a choice that runs deeper still. Iellieth isn't the only one running out of time. In New Orison, Persephonie defends her family from the foul priests of the goddess of misfortune. In the mountains of Steymhorod, Briseras battles her lycanthropic curse while seeking to awaken an ancient Archfae. On Syleste's island, Teodric faces his cruel admiral, the source of his nightmares. And in the heart of the Shadowlands, Genevieve alone can save those Lucien holds captive. Find the shadow market. Save your family. Overthrow your curse. And break the chains of captivity-whether yours or of those you love. In the fifth installment of the Age of Azuria epic fantasy series, slow burns catch fire and souls bound by fate seize their own destinies.