Ember woke to Donovan lifting her into his arms and carrying her out of the coach. Still trying to blink away the sleep from her eyes, she took in her surroundings. First, she noticed the sky which was dark gray and thick with heavy clouds. Then she gasped softly at the sight of a towering castle that seemed to loom over them menacingly.

It had narrow yet tall towers with long parapets stretching between them and black flags waved from the tops of the towers, giving ...