Absolutely loved this book. As with all of Nadia's books you simply cannot put it down until you are finished. This is book 5 in the Sacred Breath series and by far my favorite, but then again I say that about all of them until the next one comes out. It takes place 5 years after the fall of the Clan of Zalcan, Varia is 14 and Aazuria is busy rebuilding the kingdom. With everyone spread out Vachlan tells her that they are truly only whole when the family is together and it's time to bring them all home. We see a kinder and gentler Vachlan and Visola and meet their twins. It is a time of peace but don't let that fool you. An old enemy comes back and all hell breaks loose, you will be on the edge of your seat. We see Elandria come back and throw a kink into Trevain and Aazuria's relationship. There is a moment when we see the old Trevain (pre-Elandria) but he quickly reverts back to his self absorbed poor pitiful me I have 2 wives and no one loves me. He and Elandria deserve each other as they both are into self pity. They are still my least favorite.

There is a death at the end and while I won't say who I will say that while reading I prayed that there would be a way to keep this person alive. It was so heartbreaking and leaves you exhausted and sad but it leads up to the war to come.

Nadia writes in such a way that we feel like a part of the story and we know and love these characters so when one dies we feel the pain and loss. Book 6 is called Maelstrom and I can't wait for it to come out. I am so glad that she is not tired of writing about the people of Adlivun. I can't say enough about these books and I highly recommend this series. ( )