The Mark of Cain (Paperback or Softback)

The Island of Avernus burns. Despite Vanna and Kendy's valiant defense, the battle against Bone Adder left the South Wind Isle's quarry in ruins. Dama Sigyn arrived with her gunship in time to save Vanna, but Kendy sustained grievous injuries in the fight. Sigyn's heroism now has Vanna questioning the righteousness of the rebel Bael as well as the wisdom of her pledge to aid his efforts against the Celestials.

Lovesick and confused, Kai is blindsided by Vanna's hedging. He followed her into the depths of Bael's conspiracy, recruiting other Volturnians disenchanted with Celestial rule. Vanna's withdrawal leaves him isolated in his treason, with no easy way out but through.

Meanwhile, in the dwindling hours of Kelestina's frivolous ball, Effie Strait lifts her head from the Anvil of Caste, the lines of a new scar already hardening behind her ear. After surviving her rushed Oration, Effie has elevated herself within the Court of Aquilon. She hopes her new station will speed her path to a Leviathan bond, but she quickly becomes swept up in the brutal politics of the Crystal Throne. With Kelestina's grand plans for Effie drawing closer to fruition, Effie finds herself on a collision course with Bael's brewing rebellion, a conspiracy entangling her only family and the one boy she's ever loved.

Z. Bennett Lorimer is the author of several SFF series and short stories including the Tales of Ciel, The Divine Heretic, the Compact Cycle, and Shattered, and a recipient of the 2019 Iowa Home Voices Award for his short story "American Drone Pilot," first published in The Superstition Review. He is a graduate of the 2014 Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Workshop at UC-San Diego. He holds an MFA in creative writing from Iowa State University and is the former managing editor of the international literary journal Flyway: Journal of Writing and Environment. In 2025, he launched High Trestle Press, an independent press dedicated to publishing series science fiction and fantasy on an expedited timeline.A Long Island native, he currently lives in Ames, IA, with his partner and children.