When the dark riders come, death always follows. There is no escape, for they have no mercy. For thousands of years, this has been the only truth for the people of Ahwn. However, the soldiers of Brynn have not given up. The prophecies tell of a great journey across the world and through the Sleeping Grounds, a land of magic and mystery from which no one has ever returned. The prize: a legendary weapon of immeasurable power. The only weapon strong enough to tip the scales in their centuries-long war. Whoever wields the weapon first, wins. But countless lives have been lost in the search, because the final key was never found. . . until now. When the dark riders raid her peaceful village, slaughter her family, and enslave her, Lilly, a sheltered young woman who knows nothing of the outside world, must fight for her life. Amid lies and deceit, death and magic, Lilly must pick a champion, knowing that if she chooses wrong, Ahwn will pay the ultimate price.