After defeating his brother Ramael at Aemon's Stand and saving the Exiled Kindred from destruction, the former Prince of Ravens, now known simply as Raven, finds himself forced into the life of an Exile. As winter comes, closing off the Kindred from the newly conquered city of Roarke, he follows his friends Leah and Tomaz into the lands of the Kindred, where he begins a new life, safe from the threats of the Empire, and forever relieved of the responsibility of leadership.
But the other Children of the Empress, his brothers and sisters, have not been idle, and soon his new world comes crashing down around him as the Empire takes revenge for the life of Ramael, stripping the Kindred of all defense, leaving them teetering once more on the edge of annihilation. Raven soon finds himself faced with a choice: does he run for his life, leaving Leah, Tomaz, and the other Kindred behind, or does he become the prophetic Prince of the Veil, and fight back against the Mother he knows to be invincible, and the Empire he was born to rule?