The Captive (Heroes of the Empire, #4)

THE DEAD CANNOT COME BACK, BUT PROMISES MADE TO THEM LIVE FOREVER

Honzio Hartinza is no stranger to loss, but rather than bury himself in mourning, he focuses on building a better empire and rooting out the traitors who wish to destroy it. His primary aim is finding Svorgin, but after searching endlessly, Honzio is losing hope of his friend’s survival. Even so, he leaves the throne’s mantle in trustworthy hands and sets sail over the perilous Lagrima Sea to honor the promise he made him and free Savoria. When circumstances leave him stranded on the island alone, he conceals his identity until he can determine his next step.

Saga Barindaughter met sorrow firsthand the day her father was captured. But under the oppressive rule of the Tariqins, grief didn’t help her survive—resentment did, a low vengeful fury that still burns within her. When a strange man washes onto Savorian shores and claims he has come on the emperor’s orders to save them, Saga’s misgivings hold her back. But despite her distrusting nature, the longer she spends in the stranger’s presence, the more she believes him and feels something she hasn’t in a long time: hope.

When a mission from Emperor Honzio is entrusted to her, Aria enters Devorin’s castle to uncover the queen’s betrayal. Her attempts to rescue an imprisoned Savorian man go awry, and she becomes wrapped in a wicked scheme and is forced on a hunt for an ancient relic alongside the queen’s specially trained warriors—the Fox, the Mole, the Hounds, and the infamous Blade. Chained with the aggravating Savorian, she has no choice but to put her faith in him so they can escape before they unwillingly find the queen the tool to achieve her dream of world dominion: the Golden Crown.