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CATASTROPHY

ALYSE DEJUNE FLED Caldon to avoid becoming a pawn in her matriarch's attempt to have the Dejunes remain a powerful First Family among their noblesse allies. She intends to seek refuge at her uncle's legionary camp deep within the forest-covered wilderness of The Marches while he tries to patch things up between her and their matriarch. But even the best of plans can go awry, and Alyse's does when she is captured by brigands. She believes they intend to hold her for ransom but soon learns they have a worse fate in store for her.

RILL LARKIN FINALLY achieved his lifelong goal of becoming a mage even though he alienated his family and his best friend in the process. Now a mage serving the powerful Estati Family, he is part of a search party that intends to find Alyse and bring her back to Caldon—by force, if necessary. But Rill didn't anticipate having to deal with a band of brigands who vastly outnumber his small group of pursuers or with a brigand leader who loathes the Dejunes. Those miscalculation have horrible, life-threatening consequences for Rill.