Vilest Things

Calla Tuoleimi now advises King August, newly crowned in San-Er. The man living inside August's body is not the one she once betrayed. Anton escaped death by jumping into the king's body, and he is furious with her.

The two share a secret that could ruin them both, so they keep up the act together. Meanwhile tensions in San-Er are boiling over, and unrest threatens to tip into anarchy.

Calla and Anton travel to the far edges of the kingdom to head it off. There they find signs that a cult has been experimenting with qi, and the trail pulls them into a conspiracy that runs beneath the thrones.

This dark fantasy is the second book in the Flesh and False Gods trilogy, and it takes loose inspiration from Antony and Cleopatra. A former betrayer and her angry ally are forced into close company on a hard road.

Before the truth about who they really are comes out, each must decide what they are willing to give up.