A Wish Upon the Stars

Sam of Wilds walks out of the Dark Woods after nearly a year away. He went in following the Great White, driven by grief and betrayal, and he comes back to a Verania he does not recognise. The King is locked in the dungeons, the kingdom has fallen, and the Dark wizard Myrin rules from the throne.

Sam soon learns that a resistance is fighting in his name. A courageous knight leads it, alongside a defiant prince, a unicorn in a foul temper and a half-giant who wants to smash everything in sight. These are the friends he left behind.

Before Sam can hope to defeat the villains who hold his home, he has to answer for the choice that took him into the woods and face the people it hurt. The fight against Myrin and the repair of those friendships run side by side.

This is fantasy with a comic edge, suggested by the irritable unicorn and the destructive giant, set against a kingdom under occupation. It is the fourth book in the Tales from Verania series and begins in the aftermath of Myrin's coup and Sam's self-imposed exile.