Mare Barrow has narrowly escaped the clutches of the newly crowned King Maven. His treason has been carefully masked, portraying his brother, Cal, as the true traitor who murdered their father, with the help of Mare. Both Mare and Cal are on the run with the Scarlet Guard, the resistance group of Reds that defies the Silvers; Mare is a member of the group, Cal is now their prisoner.

Cal gradually finds himself working with the resistance group he had sought to take down, for now they have a common interest: to kill Maven. Cal proves himself useful, not only as a skilled soldier, but also as a pilot. But there is still division between them, particularly with Mare. Their attraction throughout the book is almost tangible, but their blood continues to separate them. Mare, a Red, is striving to bring down the Silvers, but Cal does not wish to turn on his own kind.

Mare’s specific mission now is to find “newbloods,” as she calls them. They are the Reds like herself, with powers like the Silvers. With the help of Farley (captain of the Scarlet Guard), Shade (one of her brothers), Kilorn (her childhood friend), and Cal, Mare tracks down these newbloods and tries to recruit them before Maven finds and kills them.

As they gain and train more and more newbloods, Mare becomes more aggressive. After the abuse she suffered at the hands of Maven, she finds it almost impossible to trust anyone, even those closest to her. She is at war, not only with the Silvers, but with herself – how can she hate all Silvers, yet still love Prince Cal? Mare sees that she is in danger of becoming like the monsters she seeks to destroy and she knows that she cannot continue with a heart so consumed by mistrust and betrayal. By the end of the book, she faces an ultimatum that will affect Cal most of all, and she makes her decision out of selfless love. We will see just how much this decision cost her in the next installment of the series, King’s Cage, due to hit the shelves this month!

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