In RULER, RIVAL, EXILE (Book #7), with Delos in ruins, Ceres, Thanos and the others set sail for the last corner of freedom in the Empire: the isle of Haylon. There, they hope to regroup with the few freedom fighters left, fortify the island, and make a spectacular defense against the hordes of Felldust. Ceres soon realizes that if they are to have any hope of defending the isle, she will need more than conventional skills: she will have to break the sorcerer's spell and regain the power of the Ancient Ones. And yet for this she must journey, alone, take the river of blood to the darkest cave in the realm, a place where neither life nor death exists, where she is more likely to come out dead than alive. The First Stone Irrien, meanwhile, is determined to keep Stephania as his slave and to oppress Delos. But the other Stones of Felldust may have other plans.
In VICTOR, VANQUISHED, SON (Book #8), while Ceres battles in a mystical land to regain her lost powers--and to save her very life--Thanos, Akila, Lord West and the others dig in on the Isle of Haylon for their final stand against the might of Felldust's fleet. Jeva tries to rally her Bone Folk to come to Thanos' aid and join in the battle for Haylon. An epic battle follows in wave after wave, and they all have limited time to hang on if Ceres does not return. Stephania sails to Felldust to woo the Second Stone and lead him back to Delos, to reclaim the kingdom that was once hers. But in this new world of brutality, all may not go as she had planned. Irrien, fresh from his victory in the North, gathers all the strength of the Felldust fleet to lead a final, crushing attack on Haylon. He also brings a surprise weapon--a monster of unfathomable power--to ensure Ceres is wiped out for good. Meanwhile, the sorcerer Daskalos dispatches his ultimate weapon--Thanos and Stephania's son--on a mission to kill his father.
