Ember has one goal-to find the remaining keystones and save her mother from the clutches of C'Tan. Desperate to move forward and find the Emerald Wolf, she takes matters into her own hands, cousins Lily and Kayla at her side. Together, they steal horses and break free of the demands of the mage council only to be caught by Ember's brother, uncle, and guardian, who angrily return the girls to the school. Magemaster Ezeker makes the girls and their three captors a deal-take the remaining students home to Bendanatu and Phoenixia and then continue their quest for the keystones. With C'Tan's attack on the mage academy still burning through the walls, the younglings are not safe. He said nothing about the danger of the Ne'Goi, their constant harrassment, and the death that would come. How could he have known? The Emerald Wolf brings Ember and Kayla through their greatest challenges yet-surviving repeated attacks from the dreaded Shadow Weavers, a selfless sacrifice, recovering the emerald keystone hidden in the midst of a dangerous maze that only Ember can solve, and fighting a legion of Ne'Goi bent on destroying the Bendanatu. In their darkest hour, salvation comes from the one place they never thought to receive it-their greatest enemy, C'Tan.