Would you touch the one you loved, even if it might kill them? Antonio, a merchant sailor, has no idea how dangerous Fina Perona is when he rescues her from drowning in the middle of the Lingering Sea. His ship is headed to the home Fina just abandoned, carrying desperately needed payment for her father's prized wine stores. Pirates attack, and as Antonio and Fina escape the clutches of slavery, she steals back her family's small fortune from the pirate captain's quarters.

Natalia D’Angelo has spent the last seven years planning for the day she can free both herself and her parents from the brutal clutches of slavery and return back to Valencia to find her little brother, Antonio. To everyone around her, even her best friend, she appears to be just another half-starved young man in the slave camp. This is only one of her lies and the key to her survival.

When Ana fails at her duties as a tree guardian, she opens the door for dark magic to take hold of the Mother Tree—the source of all magic in the region. An evil force moves throughout the Lingering Sea and no witch is safe.

Four clans have been at war for centuries: the Kodiak, the Raven, the Wolf, and the Ram. Through brutal war tactics, the Ram have dominated the region, inflicting death and destruction on their neighbors.

Striker Gryphon has lost his position of honor among the Ram and is now a hunted man, a traitor. Zo, the object of his affection, was murdered by members of his former clan. To honor her memory, he journeys to the highly secretive Raven Nest to warn strangers of their impending demise - even though it could cost him more than just his pride.

Gryphon has 23 days to ensure that Zo, Joshua, and Tess are cared for before offering his life as a ransom to Chief Barnabas in exchange for the lives of his best friend and mess brothers. He doesn’t have the nerve to break Zo’s heart with the truth, and he spends his time inside the Allied Camp trying not to despise the very people he’s been raised to hate - the Wolves. But Gryphon is not the only one harboring secrets.