Twenty years after that fateful voyage north, Laila has been slowly prepping for her campaign to become the next Impératrice of Soleterea. Unfortunately, she must also contend with competitors attempting to wrangle the throne from her dynasty by capitalising on the negative attitudes towards chaos magic and the demons who wield it. In the meantime, Darius has settled into his new position as the Rex of Mortos, but his rule has not been without conflict and conspiracy.When her mother suggests that Laila help herself politically by lending a hand to Darius, she finds herself once more crossing paths with her old lover and confronting the whirlwind of emotions that twenty years apart had done little to settle. Determined to put her feelings to one side, Laila throws herself headfirst into the pit of vipers that is Mortesian court politics in the interest of charming them under her influence. However, Darius continues to have an allure of his own - one that is not quite so simple to resist.The second instalment in the Essence of the Equinox trilogy continues on the trajectory of character-driven gaslamp fantasy with high emotional stakes and classical worldbuilding.