The Necromancer's Legend — Valery Keith

Book 2 of The Necromancer Princess Trilogy

Alec Reegan is a man with few choices. Spymaster to the King of Belmontis by tradition, he detests Samuel Hollings, the current king. But threat and duty have conspired to keep him bound to the crown, despite his hatred for the man wearing it.

So when Hollings commands him to locate Garrett Morvan, Mountainvale's retired city commander, to verify the necromancer he had trained isn't with him, Alec knows he's being set up. Since that same poor woman died defending them, he's certain its nothing more than an absurd loyalty test, designed to catch him out. So all he wants is to get into the city, get the information he needs and get out before he's caught by the country's most notorious criminal, the Rat King of the Warrens.

Determined to hurry this along, Alec soon finds he must ingratiate himself with Marian Morvan, certain she will tell him where her brother has gone. But Alec is missing one crucial piece of information: it's not just the city which is under the Rat King's protection, but the very same woman he has targeted.