Mortals falter under the weight of their choices. Only one man has walked every path and stayed strong. The bearer of borrowed blood and stolen soul.

Argrave tasted the invasion’s bitter bite and earned some breathing room. Each breath is short and catches in his lungs, as he’s still hounded by the frailty and weak constitution he inherited from the original owner of his body. With plague sweeping through the world, literally reconstructing his body is the only way to live through the coming trials. Risking life and limb at every turn, he and his allies walk upon a dark path of stone roses.

The bastard’s more royal sibling and their deranged father are struggling to tether a kingdom on the brink of civil war. Necromantic atrocities free of their long-dead creators and the order of knights meant to contain them veritably compete to prove which one can be a deadlier obstacle to Argrave’s plans. But he knows something that they don’t, something that will make him grimly move forward no matter the cost.