About the Book
Published in US as Prisoner of the Iron Tower.
Gavril Nagarian has finally cast out the dragon-daemon. The Drakhaoul is gone – and with it all Gavril's fearsome powers. But now rid of the daemon's unnatural lusts and desires, he understands how he has betrayed his birthright and his people – he has put the ice-bound kingdom of Azhkendir at risk and lost.
Emerging from his battle with the Lord Drakhaon scarred but victorious, Eugene of Tielen exacts a terrible revenge upon the vanquished. For crimes against the Rossiyan Empire, renegade warlord Gavril Nagarian is condemned to spend the rest of his days in an asylum for the insane – for the absence of the Drakhaoul is indeed slowly driving him mad. But Eugene is motivated by something altogether more sinister. He longs to possess the Drakhaoul – whatever the cost to his kingdom and his humanity.
With Gavril imprisoned in Ironsea Tower, it is left to three women to keep his memory alive. His mother – having returned to her homeland – sows the seeds of rebellion, while a young scullery maid whose heart is broken by Gavril's incarceration sends her spirit out to quest the Ways Beyond. And even the Emperor's new wife is haunted by the memory of the handsome young painter who once captured her soul.
As the five realms of a shattered empire are reunited and the last of Artamon's ruby tears adorns Eugene's crown, peace comes to New Rossiya. But peace can be as fragile as a rebel's whisper. Or a captive's desire to be free.
