A Lost Freedom. An Ephemeral Existence. A Profound Mystery. After Mara and the twins, Reigna and Eden--the ranking members of the first family of the Select, discover the twins' unparalleled magic powers, they return to the City of Light. There they train with the Oathtaker forces, preparing a response to the ongoing threat from Chiran. But when a traitor in their midst discloses their plans to visit the realm's border for a closer look, they are captured and imprisoned. Stripped of her Oathtaker's blade, Mara learns that an unknown power bars her ability to use her attendant magic to escape--or to free the twins. As Mara's magic dreams endeavor to inform her of events to come, as her cohorts labor to decipher ancient prophecy, as the twins learn of the power of a magic artifact they carry, and as Lucy struggles to uncover the traitor in their midst, Dixon's rescue attempt takes shape. Meanwhile, Mara discovers that the loss of her charges is only one painful outcome that could come to pass. Escape is impossible; survival, questionable; loss, inevitable. And yet . . . things are not always what they seem.