oad-weary soldier Lindel thought all he needed to do to return home was finish his current escort

mission. Then he discovers one of his charges murdered with a wailing newborn in her limp arms and his

ally Aemun holding the accused murderer at knifepoint.

His new mission? Take the murderer, Tylle, to face judgment. But then Lin is ambushed by monsters and

gravely wounded. While unconscious, Tylle magically stitches Lin's wounds closed. An act forbidden by

the Binding Tenets, laws that Lin's military faction aggressively enforces.

Lin wakes to find himself marked by Tylle's magic, making him appear as an oathbreaker.

Unfortunately, that's only part of a larger problem. Tylle claims she can remove the markings if Lin helps

her kill Aemun. What Lin doesn't know is that Tylle is part of a secret coterie working against the military

faction Lin belongs to and is the sister of Lin's murdered charge.

Unless Aemun is alive to vouch for him, Lin will face a death sentence by his own people. But if Tylle is

telling the truth, Lin might not need Aemun at all. No one would need to know Lin was ever marked. All

he has to do is help find and kill his former ally. On the other hand, with Aemun's support, Lin might find

forgiveness for breaking the Tenets. Lin would betray Tylle, his savior, but he never asked her to

save him.