AustLit

'What is the price of peace?

'With the fighting over, Tierken pursues Kira to Kessom where she is overjoyed to be reunited with him, but neither have escaped the battles unscathed.

'Kira's health is fragile and Tierken's aggression is honed from months of fighting. To add to the complications, Tierken's enemies in Sarnia have taken full advantage of his absence in the south.

'Angered by their scheming and frustrated by Kira's refusal to bend to his will, his arguments with her escalate until Kira realizes the breach between the Tremen and Terak is too large for her to mend.

'Her hopes for a future with Tierken shattered, she sets out for home, but the Sarsalin is full of dangers and enemies lie in wait.

'Caledon waits too as he struggles to reconcile his own want of Kira with the wants and needs of the stars.

'They travel south together and when they come upon a sick Shargh child, Kira begins to understand the brutal consequences of the fighting, and that bloodshed can only ever seed more bloodshed.

'Desperate to prevent future warfare, Kira resolves to offer the Shargh people healing, despite knowing it will likely cost her life. But when she reaches the Shargh settlement, she makes a shocking discovery that changes everything.

'There are Shargh women there who crave peace as she does, but she comes face to face with the man who believes her death will deliver him everything he desires, and as the final chilling part of the last Telling unfolds, she realizes for the first time, what is truly precious to her and what is worth fighting for.

'Will Kira survive to return to all she loves, or make the ultimate sacrifice as she strives for peace?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.