he fifth bell has sounded beneath Black Hollow Mountain, and the prison of the Hollow King is weakening.
After uncovering the shard of the Kingblade and awakening the forgotten oaths of Evermore, Gonn Vale now understands that the darkness cannot be faced by one bloodline, one city, or one broken blade alone. The old covenant must be gathered again, but the living are divided by fear, wounded by history, and slow to trust one another. Lareth struggles beneath the weight of refugees and unrest. The Stoneborn halls debate whether to answer or seal themselves away. The ancient roads beneath the mountains are waking, and not all who listen from the deep still serve the oath.
As messengers race toward river cities, beacon ridges, hidden holds, and forgotten gates, the servants of the Hollow King move to divide the living before they can stand together. The lower roads are no longer silent. Blue fire stirs beneath the stone. The northern shard calls from within the prison. And with every bell that sounds, the gate beneath Black Hollow draws nearer to opening.
Gonn must learn what it truly means to be a witness of the old oath, not a king, not a conqueror, and not a master of the shard. But as fear spreads and ancient powers awaken, he will be tempted by the very promise the Hollow King offers: unity without freedom, peace without choice, and order beneath one crown.
In this second book of the Black Hollow saga, the road widens from survival to war, from hidden memory to open summons, and from one boy's burden to the gathering of many peoples. The living have begun to answer, but the sixth bell is coming, and if the seventh should ring, the Hollow King will rise.
