Kaylin returned from the West March in one piece. Now that piece is fraying. She's not at home in the Imperial Palace--and she never intends to be. All she wants is normal garden-variety criminals and a place of her own. Of course, normal in her new life involves a dragon as a roommate, but she can handle that. She can't as easily handle the new residents to the city she polices, because one of them is Nightshade's younger brother

"Kaylin's assignment is to be a 'harmoniste'-- one who helps tell the truth behind a Barrani Recitation. But in a land where words are more effective than weapons, Kaylin's duties are deadly. With the wrong phrase she could tear a people further asunder. And with the right ones-- well, then she might be able to heal a blight on a race. If only she understood the story--"--Page 4 of cover.

When a minority race of telepaths is suspected of causing a near-devastating tidal wave, Private Kaylin Neya is summoned to Courtand into a PR nightmare. To ease racial tensions, the emperor has commissioned a play, and the playwright has his own ideas about who should be the focus. But Kaylin works her best magic behind the scenes, and though she tries to stay neutral, she is again drawn into a world of politicsand murder. To make...

"Multiple races carefully navigate the City of Elantra under the Dragon Emperor's wing. His Imperial Wolves are executioners, the smallest group to serve in the Halls of Law. The populace calls them assassins. Every wolf candidate must consent to a full examination by the Tha'alani, one of the most feared and distrusted races in Elantra for their ability to read minds. Most candidates don't finish their job interviews.Severn Handred, the newest potential...

"Private Kaylin Neya already has Dragons and Barrani as roommates. Adding one injured, flightless Aerian to her household should be trivial. Sure, the Aerian is Sergeant Moran dar Carafel, but Kaylin's own sergeant is a Leontine, the definition of growly and fanged. She can handle one Aerian. But when a walk to the Halls of Law becomes a street-shattering magical assassination attempt on the sergeant, Kaylin discovers that it's not the guest who's...

In Elantra, the law is upheld by a few groups, and the most feared are the emperor's executioners. Severn Handred, newest member of this elite force, joins a mission against those who will kill to keep their secrets.

Kaylin wasn't sent to the West March to start a war. Her mission to bring back nine Barrani might do just that, though. She traveled with a Dragon, and her presence is perceived as an act of aggression in the extremely hostile world of Barrani-Dragon politics. Internal Barrani politics are no less deadly, and Kaylin has managed--barely--to help the rescued Barrani evade both death and captivity at the hands of the Consort. Before the unplanned "visit"...