This was a fitting continuation of Freyrik and Ayden's story. This story mentions several events of the first book, Counterpoint, without going into much detail to help readers remember, so it is best if these two books are read close together. 
 The story picks up almost where the previous story ends. It is a few days later, and Prince Freyrik is taking Ayden in to the High Court to be bound before seeing the Aegis, the Lord Protector of the joined kingdoms of humanity, who is like a father to Freyrik. Once they reach Splendor (the name of the city), Ayden is taken away and bound immediately by starfall, which interferes with an elf's ability to hear or create 'songs' and incapacitates him for a couple of days. For most of the rest of the book he is thusly 'deaf' though he continues to fight in other ways, such as plotting to free himself and the other elven slaves from Splendor. 
 Freyrik worries about how much he has displeased the Aegis because he can see myriad ways in which he is slighted in court. He worries for Ayden's safety. And he worries for his brother Berendil, King Farr, who has been at court some months and unable to slip away. Soon, the court intrigues have Freyrik right in the middle of his brother and his Lord Protector, and his lover has no gift to sort truth from lies. (Which would have made this book much less fun, if Ayden could sort everything out by listening to song.) 
 We hop back and forth between Freyrik's and Ayden's POV as they both endure the High Court's demands upon them. Though the book is not entirely court intrigues, it is a good 2/3 to 3/4 of it, with the last 1/4 to 1/3 being the search for the source of the darker beasts and Surges, the Hunter's Call. The intrigues are well-crafted and truly describe the rock and hard place which Freyrik inhabits. He fortunately does not come across as truly wishy-washy, but more 'defeated' in that he cannot see a way to love his brother, his Aegis, and his elf without someone paying a steep price. And that was a truth to be dealt with. 
 I was glad to see that Rik and Ayden did not significantly backslide into trust issues after they'd gained that trust in the first story. There were some, but they were not constant and generally not the source of angst in this story, so it was not a repeat of the previous, but a true moving forward. Ayden loses none of his surly charm: though he did learn to temper quite a lot for Rik's sake, there are certain things which he will not put up with, and it does cost him, quite painfully, several times. 
 If I have one issue with the book, it is the very abrupt ending. We do not 'see' the end of the final battle, only its outcome in discussion after several days/weeks. There was plenty of aftermath which could have been explored in slightly more detail. But that is a minor complaint to a truly awesome 2-book fantasy series (with great covers).