The Defiant Heir
core novel 2018 Swords and Fire / Rooks and Ruin
Record
| First published | 2018 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.30 (3,787 ratings, collected 2026-08-26) |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780316466899 |
| Internal chronology | 2 |
Synopsis
Continuing directly from the first volume of the Swords and Fire trilogy, this second book finds Lady Amalia Cornaro and her magically bound fire warlock, Zaira, sent on a mission that goes well beyond ordinary diplomacy. The two are tasked with infiltrating a rare gathering of seventeen Witch Lords in the rival nation of Vaskandar, where they must use cunning, persuasion and quiet espionage to convince the assembled lords to abandon plans for war against Amalia's home city of Raverra. Operating deep in hostile territory and dependent on each other's very different strengths, Amalia and Zaira know that if their attempt at diplomacy fails, the simmering tension between the two powers will erupt into full-scale war, placing enormous pressure on a partnership that is still finding its footing.
Where it sits
- Universe: Swords and Fire / Rooks and Ruin
- Series: Swords and Fire core; position 2 of 3 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Melissa Caruso
Notes
- From the series record (Swords and Fire): A trilogy set in the Serene Empire, following Amalia Cornaro and a bonded fire warlock.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.
- Publication order, within the series Swords and Fire: position 2 of 3: previous The Tethered Mage (2017) · next The Unbound Empire (2019)
- Internal chronology, within Swords and Fire / Rooks and Ruin: position 2 of 6: previous The Tethered Mage (2017) · next The Unbound Empire (2019)
Sources
- Hachette Book Group: Melissa Caruso titles
- https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/melissa-caruso/the-defiant-heir/9780316466899/
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