A deranged god of justice, a duelist who reluctantly serves him, and an ex-soldier turned merchant who dares fight back.

To protect an innocent student from a vengeful god, Hahven took their place in being judged. He expected to die in the resulting duel, not be chosen as the god’s newest champion. Now he’s forced to serve the god’s crooked sense of justice or risk negating the deal to protect his student.

He dreads what his god might eventually ask of him.

The god cursed him with a chesnathé horn that intrudes on his thoughts with the desire to kill those he deems guilty, or grant immortality to those he finds worthy.

Elsewhere in Cirena, Alia is burdened by a mistake she hasn’t forgiven herself for, despite her determination to forget her past as a soldier and make the most of her new life as a merchant. She’s about to set out on her own when an old enemy makes a plea to the god of justice to destroy her for her past crimes.

Intrigued, the god sends Hahven to convince Alia to serve him instead. If Hahven succeeds, he’ll be permitted to live a human lifetime before being called again to his god’s service.

But then Alia would be trapped for eternity with the god, the same as him.

Luckily for Hahven, the decision isn’t his. Alia must willingly make the pledge. And the choice she makes will test Hahven’s increasingly irritable horn, and force Alia to reconsider whether or not she’s really done protecting the innocent from those who mean harm.