Children of the Serpent Gate — Sarah Ash

In this third novel in her acclaimed Tears of Artamon saga, Sarah Ash once again transports readers to a realm where sorcery collides with political intrigue--and one man haunted by a dark legacy struggles between the forces of good and evil battling within him....

Gavril Nagarian is believed dead. But the Lord Drakhaon of Azhkendir lives on. Now he is entrusted with a sacred mission: to rescue the kidnapped Magus, in whose possession are the five priceless rubies that compose the fabled Tears of Artamon. Ancient law decrees that whoever possesses the gems has the power to impose his law over the Empire of New Rossiya.

But the task exacts a cost to Gavril's soul--and to his life-- as two deadly rivals unite in a common goal: to destroy Gavril and the Drakhaoul that lives within him once and for all.