The Cold Commands (Land Fit for Heroes)

Ringil Eskiath, scarred wielder of Ravensfriend, is on the run – from his past, from the slave trade magnates of Trelayne who want him dead, and apparently from the dark gods themselves, who are taking an interest but making no more sense than they ever have.

Outlawed and exiled from his ancestral home in the north, Ringil has only one place left to turn – Yhelteth, city heart of the southern Empire, where perhaps he can seek asylum with the kiriath half-breed Archeth, former war comrade and now advisor to the Emperor.

But Archeth has problems of her own, as does her house guest, bodyguard and one time steppe nomad Egar the Dragonbane. All three veterans of the war will find peace is fleeting. Old enemies are stirring, the old order is rotted through and crumbling, and though no-one yet knows it, the city of Yhelteth is about to explode...