An Anthem of Suns

"All men break the same. If not from love, then from fear."

The heir to a burning empire and a banished historian are destined for a bloodthirsty intrigue known as the Assassin Games, where they must learn to kill in the name of a cruel power or become prey.

Before the trials of the Bruscha-Jeki began bleeding the humanity from his body, Sorinn Pjuiia served in his father's Imperial Navy over the course of eight centuries, patiently awaiting the day he's destined to inherit the throne. It isn't until being grounded in the desert that he learns of the emperor's atrocities on land. But he holds his own secrets close to his heart-the fact that he was born with a peculiar magic suppressed so deeply that he can no longer get a handle on it.

With his life in shambles, Sorinn will break one of their most sacred laws by enduring the ten humanity ruptures required by members of the Bruscha-Jeki, though they have always been prohibited to members of royalty. They are his father's third and most powerful army. Blessed with superior senses and like magic, they may be the only source of strength capable of standing against Aenoch's tyrannical reign.

To secure passage through the dangerous waters of the Hazard Ring, Sorinn sells his hand in marriage to the daughter of Queen Faelynn. In return, she will entrust the captain of her Goshawk Five, Xathrian Eckhaldis, with ensuring Sorinn's survival through the ten deadly ruptures, thus beginning their game of secrets and deceptions as they stand face to face against deadly adversaries that would see Sorinn slaughtered for his namesake.

Meanwhile, Arizbeth Kravetryn was a historian's apprentice in Layacinth before being dismissed over inappropriate research-especially that which involves the mysteries of the Bruscha-Jeki after a harrowing encounter long ago. In order to win enough riches to restore her home, she too will secure passage to the Assassin Circle for the promise of wealth and for the ability to do what no one has done before: to record the history of the mysterious Bruscha-Jeki and earn her place as a true historian.