The Skewed Throne — Joshua Palmatier

AMENKOR, CITY OF LEGEND...

At its height, Amenkor was a center of wealth and culture. But a millennium ago, the city was caught in the White Fire, a force that swept across the land spreading madness, drought, famine, and disease in its wake.

Now the Dredge--the bustling market street that snaked between the slums and the prosperous center of the city--marked the dividing line between plenty and poverty, safety and peril.

Left a homeless orphan as a very young child, Varis learned to survive in the Dredge. And when the White Fire blasted through Amenkor for the second time, Varis--along with the entire city--was trapped in the overwhelming blaze of power.

Though the current Mistress continued to reign from the Skewed Throne, Amenkor's decline escalated after the second Fire. For Varis, though, the chance to escape her hopeless existence unexpectedly presented itself when a guardsman of the Skewed Throne named Erick--one of the elite assassins known as Seekers--enlisted her to work for him.

Because she had a gift for Seeing" the true nature of people, Varis soon realized something was wrong, that some of those marked for death were not guilty. But how could the Mistress be mistaken? Trust in the all-knowing, all-seeing justice and wisdom, of their ruler was the foundation of Amenkor's society. Then, one fateful day Varis claimed a life that took her beyond the law. Suddenly there was nowhere safe for her in the Dredge. There was only one place left to flee -- into the heart of Amenkor itself...