Iron Butterfly

Thalia knows three things; Her first name. That she barely escaped the clutches of the Septori with the help of a mysterious stranger. And that her run-in with the Septori's iron butterfly machine did something to her. It changed her into something neither fully human nor Denai. Fearing her inner darkness and seeking answers to her past, Thalia finds refuge as a servant at the Citadel in Calandry, a school for the gifted Denai. When strange powers awaken within her she is forced to pretend to be one of them and goes from being a servant to a student overnight. Her life becomes even more complicated when the handsome stranger who saved her from the Septori becomes her new fighting instructor. Thalia knows that the Septori are still looking for her and they will stop at nothing to get her back-dead or alive.

After finally settling into her new life at the Citadel, Thalia is reunited with her father, Bearen, the leader of the reclusive Valdyrstahl Clan. Forced to leave the school and return home to the snowy mountains, Thalia is surprised to find she is engaged to a man she doesn't remember. When she rejects the betrothal, her father organizes a tournament for her hand in marriage. Thalia will risk everything, even banishment to try and win the tournament herself and prove that she is strong enough to lead her people. The only problem is when her mysterious bodyguard, Kael, surprises her and enters the ring to challenge for leadership of the clan and her.

Every journey has an end. Unable to find the answers she sought in Skyfell, Thalia, Joss, and Kael travel to Haven with a prisoner in tow. An attack on the road waylays their plans, and Thalia finds herself traveling alone with Kael to the hidden sanctuary of the Sword Brothers. But war is on the horizon and the Raven is amassing his army. This time, the target is not Calandry, but the Sirens of Sinnedor. When family ties are revealed, Thalia must choose sides. Desperate to break the final seal on her power and save those she loves, will Thalia willingly taste the bitter pain of the iron butterfly machine one final time?