Enter the Cosmere in this stunning standalone adventure of Breath, light, and love strong enough to slay gods, from #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson–creator of the Stormlight Archive, the Mistborn saga, and countless bestselling works of science fiction and fantasy.

T’Telir, capital of Hallandren, is a city by the sea where colorful crowds bustle through sunny streets and worship heroes who have been reborn as gods. Ruled by the silent, mysterious God King, the pantheon is nourished by offerings of Breath, the life force that keeps them youthful.

To Vivenna and Siri, princesses of Idris, the abuse of Breath and the claim of the Returned to be gods are repugnant blasphemy. But with one princess reluctantly wed to the God King in a bid for peace, the other finds she must rely on Breath-using mercenaries to try to rescue her sister from her monstrous husband.

One of their few allies is Lightsong, a lesser god who doubts his own religion and fears that violence between Hallandren and Idris is inevitable. While another new arrival in T’Telir–one who bears the sapient sword Nightblood–works behind the scenes against the declaration of war, it will fall to the new queen, unaware of her sister’s imminent rescue attempt, to get through to Lightsong and the aloof God King before her homeland is destroyed.

Lightsong the Bold, a lesser god who doubts his own religion, starts investigating mysterious murders in the Court of Gods and uncovers haunting clues to his own forgotten past. He is one of four gods who controls the army of Awakened Lifeless soldiers, and one faction is inciting an invasion of Idris despite the marriage treaty. Vasher–wielder of the sapient sword Nightblood–works behind the scenes against the declaration of war, but Lightsong’s visions of bloodshed prophesy its inevitability. Can the new queen, unaware of her sister’s imminent rescue attempt, persuade Lightsong and also somehow get through to the aloof God King–who she has been forbidden to speak to or even look in the eyes–before her homeland is destroyed?