One brawl. Six years of secrets. No way back.
When a tavern fight strips six years of careful concealment from a fire-mage princess, Nick Vance has one night to hide her in plain sight before the Crown's hunters reach the Fringe. The disguise he crafts is clever, dangerous, and temporary at best.
The real threats aren't wearing uniforms.
A villain is trafficking enslaved spirits with pre-war methods the last generation burned entire facilities to erase. Something ancient is pushing everything in the Fringe toward his walls. A mysterious Patron is offering protection and asking nothing yet, which is the part that worries him most.
Nick's barony stands between all of it. His spirits are war-veterans with old debts and older wounds. His walls are half-built. His mana is always running thin.
The King is counting miles. The darkness is counting days.
Can he finish building fast enough to stand against what's coming, or will the Fringe consume everything he's raised from the mud?