Song Gate

An ancient army resurrected.A kingdom on the brink of collapse.A rebellion thirteen years in the making.…and an heir who refuses to follow the rulesAll Nick wants is a normal teenage life, hidden from his war-torn homeland, Korelios. But when the rebellion he abandoned tracks him down, he is dragged back into the war he tried to forget.The only hope for Korelios is for Nick to reclaim his throne, but to do that he must form a dangerous allegiance with the Penumbra Guard, a clandestine army led by a man his friends have sworn to kill.As alliances blur and betrayals cut deep, Nick must confront the brutal legacy of his own bloodline and decide what he's willing to sacrifice for the crown he never wanted.Because in this war, the price of victory may be his humanity. Alethea is an author of YA and NA fantasy books and archaeology non-fiction. Her first novel Lightning Tracks was a finalist in the Aurealis Awards. Her archaeology book Ancient Australia Unearthed was shortlisted for an ABDA Award and an EPAA Award. Dark Sun Rising is her second fiction book. She lives in Australia with her husband and little tribe of boys.

An assassin hunting a blood debt An ancient land arising from legend A feud between dreams and duty ...and a choice that will decide the fate of an entire civilisation Sixteen-year-old Nick Williams' biggest problem is staying out of the principal's office-until an assassin murders his aunt and an estranged cousin drags him through a song gate to a war-torn land that shouldn't exist. Hunted by a king who wants him dead, Nick's only hope for survival may be Cal, a deserting enemy soldier haunted by the massacre he was forced to commit, who is on his own desperate search for redemption. Caught in a war where loyalty is a weapon, their greatest threat may not be the assassins on their trail, but the secrets they keep from each other. But to save the people he loves, Nick must confront the thing he fears most-relinquish his dreams and claim the birthright he never wanted.