New York Times bestselling author Richelle Mead returns to the Otherworld, an embattled realm mystically entwined with our world – and ruled by one woman's dangerous choice.

Shaman-for-hire Eugenie Markham is the best at banishing entities trespassing in the mortal realm. But as the Thorn Land's queen, she's fast running out of ways to end the brutal war devastating her kingdom. Her only hope: the Iron Crown, a legendary object that even the most powerful gentry fear.

But who can Eugenie trust? Fairy king Dorian has his own agenda for aiding her search. And Kiyo, her shape-shifter ex-boyfriend, has every reason to betray her along the way. To control the Crown's ever-consuming powers, Eugenie will have to confront an unimaginable temptation – one that will put her soul and the fate of two worlds in mortal peril.