Blood of Yesterday (The Second Cycle, #2)

Survival requires surrender. But surrender has a cost.

King Alaric Lorindan has completed the unthinkable. He has embraced the parasitic magic of the Graft to change history forever. In his mind, he is a savior. The Garden simply needed pruning.

Queen Brighid Lorindan has become the Lioness in more than name. Betrayed by her husband and hunted by his army, she leads a broken company of survivors toward the borders of the fearsome Regatian Empire. But in a land defined by political ruthlessness, asylum is often another word for a cage.

The true danger, however, is older than anyone imagined. Deep within an impenetrable vault, records from the First Cycle are uncovered that reveal the horrific secrets of the Graft. It is not just a perversion of the Gift. It is far worse.

From the humiliation of the Regatian Empire to the blood-soaked ritual duels of the distant isles and the burning gold of peaceful valleys, the survivors must find a way to stop the First Cycle from repeating. To save the present, they must unearth the truth of the past.

But the Blood of Yesterday carries a price beyond simple wars.

Steel is honest. Blood is timeless. The Cycles repeat.