Kael and the Cult of the Dark Fire: A Sword-and-Sorcery Adventure (The Kael Brightsun Chronicles Book 9) by Zackery Arbela

Kael has come too far to turn back.Now leading the mercenary company known as the Broken Horn, he follows Thyra’s trail deeper into ijali territory–where every step forward tightens the chains around him.The road leads to Summitari, a city rotting from within. Rival factions gather. Violence simmers in the streets. Power shifts with every whispered alliance. Here, silver buys loyalty…for a time.But beneath the city’s decay, something far more dangerous is taking root.The Cult of the Dark Fire.What begins as another contract draws Kael into a web of secrets, ambition, and forces older than the Seven Cities themselves. As the cult’s influence spreads and the city edges toward chaos, Kael must decide how far he is willing to go–and what he is willing to become–to survive and keep moving toward the woman he has crossed half the world to find.Because in the Seven Cities, survival is never enough.And some fires cannot be escaped.