Kael never asked for power. At seventeen, he only wanted to craft the finest blades in the Ashen Dominion. But when a spark leaps from his forge into his hands, he discovers he is no ordinary boy. He is a Catalyst Emberborn, a rare human attuned to the primal Flame that sustains, and threatens, the world.
Now, Kael is the focal point of forces older than memory. The Order of White Flame, a sect of fanatics, sees him as the key to the Heartfire, the millennial ritual that can control the Burnout cycle and reshape civilization. The Ashen Dominion, ruthless enforcers of Flame suppression, would see him destroyed. And all the while, the Flame itself pulses through him; alive, aware, demanding.
Guided by Seris, a devoted and obsessive member of the Order, Kael must learn to wield the Flame without losing himself to it. Every choice risks catastrophe, every misstep could turn allies into enemies, and the looming Burnout threatens to consume the world.
In a land on fire and on the brink, Kael must master the Flame, or watch everything he loves turn to ash.