Ebb — Gregory Ashe

Joaquim has returned to Apsia -- healed, in love, and at peace. When he arrives home, however, he discovers that things have changed in his absence. Jaecan forces besiege the city, his parents have entered the dangerous waters of Apsia's turbulent politics, and Joaquim's heirship to Bonacore Coi is the only thing keeping his family safe. And Coi is far from pleased with Joaquim. Adence, still recovering from the terrible battle that left his soul fused with that of his former companion Erlandr, seeks only a life of peace. He discovers, however, that a mysterious darkness now inhabits Apsia, consuming the souls of the dead -- and Adence is the only one left with the skills and knowledge to stop it. Tides, former crew-boss and, more recently, fish-wife, keeps her head down and her knife sharp in case people from her past come looking. When she stumbles across an old enemy assaulting a child, however, her plans for hiding are forgotten, and Tides begins to cut a bloody path through Apsia. At the end of her path, the man who ruined her life: Bonacore Coi, and his heir, Joaquim.