The fourth novel in the Queen's Thief series. After an attempted assassination and kidnapping, Sophos, heir to the throne of Sounis, disappears. Those who care for him - including the thief Eugenides and the Queen of Eddis - are left to wonder if he is alive and if they will ever see him again.

After an attempted assassination and kidnapping, Sophos, heir to the throne of Sounis, disappears. Those who care for him - including the thief Eugenides and the Queen of Eddis - are left to wonder if he is alive and if they will ever see him again.

Sophos, under the guidance of yet another tutor, practices his swordplay and strategizes escape scenarios should his father's villa come under attack. How would he save his mother? His sisters? Himself? Could he reach the horses in time? Where would he go? But nothing prepares him for the day armed men, silent as thieves, swarm the villa courtyard ready to kill, to capture, to kidnap. Sophos, the heir to the throne of Sounis, disappears without a trace.

In Attolia, Eugenides, the new and unlikely king, has never stopped wondering what happened to Sophos. Nor has the Queen of Eddis. They send spies. They pay informants. They appeal to the gods. But as time goes by, it becomes less and less certain that they will ever see their friend alive again.

Across the small peninsula battles are fought, bribes are offered, and conspiracies are set in motion. Darkening the horizon, the Mede Empire threatens, always, from across the sea. And Sophos, anonymous and alone, bides his time. Sophos, drawing on his memories of Gen, Pol, the Magus and Eddis, sets out on an adventure that will change all of their lives forever.

Praise for Megan Whalen Turner

'The Queen's Thief books awe and inspire me' Laini Taylor, New York Times-bestselling author of the Daughter of Smoke and Bone novels and Strange the Dreamer

'Megan Whalen Turner writes vivid, immersive, heartbreaking fantasy' Leigh Bardugo, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom

'Endlessly entertaining, deeply deceptive, and very, very clever' Garth Nix, New York Times-bestselling and award-winning author of the Old Kingdom, Keys to the Kingdom, and Seventh Tower series

'Romance, intrigue, mystery, surprises, and sheer beautiful writing' Cassandra Clare, award-winning and New York Times-bestselling author of The Mortal Instruments and Lady Midnight

'The world Turner creates is so tangible that not only do I believe in its characters, I almost believe in its gods' Kristin Cashore, award-winning and New York Times-bestselling author of the Graceling Realm series

(P) 2023 Hodder & Stoughton Limited