World of the Five Gods

Amidst the decaying splendor and poisonous intrigue of Chalion's ancient capital, Lord Cazaril is forced to confront not only powerful enemies but also the malignant curse that clings to the royal household, trapping him, flesh and soul, in a maze of demonic paradox, damnation, and death for as long as he dares walk the five-fold pathway of the gods.

Three years have passed since the widowed dowager Royina Ista found release from the curse of madness that kept her imprisoned in her family's castle of Valenda. Yet her newfound freedom is bittersweet, and so the road—escape—beckons. As Ista and her little party of pilgrims wander at will, they are unexpectedly set upon, but a mysterious ally appears, a warrior nobleman who fights like a berserker. The temporary safety of her enigmatic champion's castle cannot ease Ista's mounting dread, however, when she finds his dark secrets are entangled with hers in a net of the gods' own weaving. What the inscrutable gods commanded of her in the past brought her land to the brink of devastation. Now, once again, they have chosen Ista as their instrument. And again, for good or for ill, she must comply.

When Prince Boleso is slain by a noblewoman he had intended to defile, it falls to Lord Ingrey kin Wilfcliff to bring the Lady Ijada to court for judgment. But his road is fraught with danger, and in a climate of political upheaval, his prisoner may turn out to be the only one he dares trust.