A king is missing, his people trapped as the woods turn deadly.
Underground, a boy called Rescue has found an escape.

All Hopes are failing across The Expanse. The once beautiful forests are now haunted and bloodthirsty. House Abascar's persecuted people are risking their lives as they journey through predatory trees. They seek a mythic city - Abascar's last, as the best hope for refuge - a place where they may find the source of Auralia's colors.

They journey on without their king. During one calamitous attempt to rescue some of the subjects from slavery, Cal-raven vanished.

But Cal-raven's helper, the ale boy, falling through a crack in the earth, has now discovered a slender thread of hope in the dark. He has the courage to lead his desperate company up the secret river.

Meanwhile, with a dragon's help, Scharr ben Fray the wandering mage is uncovering history's biggest lie. It's a deception that only a true miracle can repair.

Time is running out for everyone entangled in The Auralia Thread. But wherever Auralia