The empire made him invisible. The rebellion made him a legend.

He’s the rumor that won’t die. The “half-casting” the Galathian Empire calls trash. The legend riding a black warhorse who raids supply wagons and vanishes into the Frontier mist.

Jay knows the truth: he’s also Jados Justinkeel, last heir to a conquered kingdom, with no army, no fortune, and no idea how to become the king his people need. All he has is a stolen identity, a reckless ally known as the Mad Captain, and a desperate plan to turn whispers into rebellion.

What Jay doesn’t know is that his world—and his blood—matter to forces far beyond the Frontier. Outside the reach of empires and kingdoms, older powers are watching, and the fate of his rebellion may be tied to a secret no one on his planet has ever imagined.

The Galathians took his home. Now he’s coming to take it back.