Plagued by guilt over her friend Nami’s death, Adia is determined to resurrect him. Balancing her responsibilities at the Academy of Shamans with being an outsider among the “spoiled, talentless, conceited” students—who have now labeled her “Kelbara the Killer”—is no easy task for an orphan from a lowly background. Adia makes a deal to try to bring Nami back to the realm of the living, but she finds that it costs more than she bargained for. As she starts to feel her powers diminishing (and learns from Headmaster Mbari that the gods are struggling too), Adia uncovers more mysteries about her family and her homeland, the Swamplands of Zaria. Topping it all off, she meets with a huge obstacle in the form of Liam, the recently imprisoned brother of her friends Mimi and Rusty who’s missing part of his soul. Will she be able to travel through realms to save Nami as well as her magic and that of the Alusi guardian gods? Or will Adia finally succumb to perils and powers stronger than she is? Hendrix delivers with this instalment, bringing gripping plotlines and fast pacing that will keep readers glued to the pages as they follow Adia on her race against the clock. Themes of familial tension, friendship, betrayal, identity, sacrifice, and spirituality are threaded throughout.