A Dance of Swords — Robert Stanek

Dark change is sweeping over the lands of Ruin Mist. An ancient evil has returned from the dark past, and the dark forces gather. War comes to the lands as the queen of the elves foretold. Though despair abounds and evil seeks to reign, there is hope. Queen Mother sees hope through a union of the divided peoples: an alliance of men and elves to fight against the forces of darkness. But between men and elves there is no love and little trust. 

Only truth and faith can guide their destinies. In the Kingdoms, old hatreds have returned and a greedy king lusts for power. Prince Valam, with the help of the elves, saved Great Kingdom from destruction by the mighty forces of King Jarom but not before the city of Alderan was burned to ashes. Now Prince Valam must journey to East Reach, land of the elves, to help save the elves from a war such as never before seen in the lands: a war between elves, a war for the future of the elven kingdoms. 

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to them all, the early battles for Ruin Mist's future against the coming darkness have already been fought. These battles, won at great cost and by the barest of margins, were meant to divert attention from what Noman, the mysterious Keeper of the City of the Sky, can only guess at as he works to gather the company he believes holds the key to Ruin Mist's future. Will the kingdoms of men and elves fall? Will the peoples succumb to the darkness? Who will live? Who will die? The answers are in Book Two of In the Service of Dragons.