After rescuing the Children of Night, Abeni and her friends are in search of the elder spirits--who they hope can protect Asha. But before the group can reach their destination, they're captured and held prisoner by the Kingdom of the Gold Spinners, whose magics manipulate gold to build and achieve wonders. To secure their freedom, the companions make an agreement to retrieve the kingdom's sacred and mystical Golden Throne, the very soul of their people--said to be hidden in a lost city beneath the sands and guarded by a terrible dragon. For Abeni, the quest for the throne becomes a race against time--the only means to assure she and her friends do not suffer the fate of being turned into living statues of gold forever. But there are other dangers. The Witch Priest has learned of Asha's existence and has sent his forces to find her. Leading this search is a mortal teenage girl, who the Witch Priest has adopted almost as a daughter. With a pack of minions including the frightening Bat Riders and new villains like the coldhearted Huntsman and his three monstrous hounds, she sets out after Abeni and her friends--driven by a determination to prove her own strength and worth, to both her unforgiving "father" and herself. Abeni will find herself facing these new challenges as she seeks to bring back the Golden Throne, evade the Witch Priest's hunters, and fulfill her own quest to find the disappeared people of her village.