ALSO BY JEFF WHEELER Nonfiction Your First Million Words The Grave Kingdom Series The Killing Fog The Buried World The Immortal Words The Harbinger Series Storm Glass Mirror Gate Iron Garland Prism Cloud Broken Veil The Kingfountain Series The Poisoner’s Enemy (prequel) The Maid’s War (prequel) The Poisoner’s Revenge (prequel) The Queen’s Poisoner The Thief’s Daughter The King’s Traitor The Hollow Crown The Silent Shield The Forsaken Throne The Legends of Muirwood Trilogy The Wretched of Muirwood The Blight of Muirwood The Scourge of Muirwood The Covenant of Muirwood Trilogy The Lost Abbey (novella) The Banished of Muirwood The Ciphers of Muirwood The Void of Muirwood Whispers from Mirrowen Trilogy Fireblood Dryad-Born Poisonwell Landmoor Series Landmoor Silverkin This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Text copyright © 2020 by Jeff Wheeler All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher. Published by 47North, Seattle www.apub.com Amazon, the Amazon logo, and 47North are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates. ISBN-13: 9781542015073 ISBN-10: 1542015073 Cover design by Shasti O’Leary Soudant To Isabelle CONTENTS MAP GLOSSARY In warfare nothing... PROLOGUE CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER FIVE CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER SEVEN CHAPTER EIGHT CHAPTER NINE CHAPTER TEN CHAPTER ELEVEN CHAPTER TWELVE Being deeply loved... CHAPTER THIRTEEN CHAPTER FOURTEEN CHAPTER FIFTEEN CHAPTER SIXTEEN Love is composed... CHAPTER SEVENTEEN CHAPTER EIGHTEEN CHAPTER NINETEEN CHAPTER TWENTY Coming events cast... CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE CHAPTER THIRTY CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE A little impatience... CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE A bird does... CHAPTER FORTY EPILOGUE CHARACTERS AUTHOR’S NOTE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ABOUT THE AUTHOR GLOSSARY Baobei——term of endearment for a beloved child Dan——the Immortal Word for protection Diyu——afterlife of darkness and shadow, ruled by the dragon Dianxue——a long-rumored skill of rendering killing/paralyzing blows by touch Dongxue——series of caves where the Qiangdao had hidden Ensign——a band of trained warriors for hire Hongshui——flood Jingcha——the police force in Sajinau Li——an approximate unit of measurement, less than a mile, used to estimate Meiwood——rosewood, a hardwood used for magic and construction Mudi——the garden of bones beyond the Death Wall Namibu Desert——a coastal desert far to the south Ni-ji-jing——killer whale Qiangdao——roving bandits Qiezei——a thief, cat burglar, picklock; professional criminal Quonsuun——a temple, fighting school Shijian——the Immortal Word controlling the concept of time Shu——the glyph that protects one from the killing fog Sudu——the Immortal Word for speed Taidu——one’s attitude, demeanor, bearing Taoqi——disobedient child Tian——the afterlife of light, ruled by the phoenix Tianshi——angelic beings from the Grave Kingdom Tianxia——the mortal world Weili——the Immortal Word for might Wenming——culture, civilization Woliu——the vortex separating the Grave Kingdom from the mortal world Wuxing——the Immortal Word for the unseen, invisible Xidan——port town on trade route to Namibu Desert Xieyi——the Immortal Word that forms a formal pact, agreement, a sealed bond Xixuegui——the undead Yongqi——the Immortal Word for valor Zhu——the Immortal Word for death (a dianxue glyph) In warfare nothing is too dishonest. —Dawanjir proverb PROLOGUE The Last Sunrise General Tzu knew they would lose. There really hadn’t been much of a hope for victory anyway. The sky roiled with smoky fumes, and a bloodred sun had ascended over the expanse of the Death Wall. At least the darkness had lifted and they could see the rubble in the shattered streets of Sihui. The dragon had, perhaps, wished to show them their doom. The general knew another attack would come soon. And this one would spell the end of Zhumu’s reign. After he fell, only three independent kingdoms would be left. Or had some of them already fallen? They’d received no outside news since the first day of the attack. One of his underlings approached hastily, soot sticking to the sweat on his brow. “General, the third bridge has fallen,” he said with panic in his voice. “It crumbled into the river during the night.” “Draw our forces back to the final bridge,” General Tzu replied coolly. “That is where we will make our final stand.” “But will it be enough?” asked the desperate underling. “Can we hold back the Dragon of Night’s army?” “Oh, we will,” the general replied with bravado. “We will hold it with every last man. Today is the day that Echion’s army will retreat. I’ve received reports that some of his ships are full of disease. Yes, we will win this day. Gather to the final bridge.” The man’s face brightened. “We’ve nearly won?” “One last push,” General Tzu said confidently. “We’ve lasted this long. It’s almost over.” “Thank you, General! Thank you! I’d nearly given up hope.” General Tzu clapped the man on his armored shoulder and turned to walk to the palace. Everything he’d told the man was a reassuring lie. Under Echion’s rule, the Qiangdao were more united than they had ever been, and they were chafing with impatience to loot Sihui. Just as he’d done in the other kingdoms, Echion would choose loyal governors to administer the Iron Rules once Sihui fell. King Zhumu would be executed. His daughter had already been abducted and spirited away to the dragon’s palace at Fusang. An ensign had been sent to free her and the phoenix-chosen, Bingmei, but no word had ever returned. General Tzu might lie to his troops to bolster their morale and courage, but he’d not lie to himself. Bingmei and the rest had probably died before they completed their mission. Which meant there was absolutely no chance of victory at all. Sihui would be destroyed like the other kingdoms. And there wasn’t anything in the world he could do to stop it from happening. As the general rounded the corner of the rubble-strewn street, he saw the palace ahead and dreaded the news he would bring Zhumu. Clenching his fists as he walked, he thought about the defense of
