The Dark Mage

Unearthly darkness swirled at the bases of the trees. Bending to her indrawn breath, shadows crept up the surrounding trees, black tendrils grazing rough bark. They whispered an unknown language, calling her towards the Void, the realm of the dead. Misty shadow-wisps touched her bare feet like fingers of ice, encouraging her retreat into her woolen cloak. The grip of death gentled, a caress across her cheekbones from blackened corpse-fingers of darkness. The shadows brushed her cheeks and dark blonde hair, slipping silently over her shoulders to embrace her. Ren'wyn has long heard the whispers of the dead. Trapped in an arranged marriage to a cruel lord-and secretly bound to forbidden magic-she walks a dangerous line between obedience and defiance. The ancient magics of her world still flicker beneath imperial rule, and her gift is feared most of all. Her only fleeting escape from increasing isolation is in the realm of the dead, where the shades call her by name. When a chance at freedom comes, she flees into a fractured land on the brink of rebellion. Magic is stirring, calling to those with power over strength, earth, foresight-and death. As Ren'wyn encounters other gifted outcasts and a battlescarred soldier with secrets of his own, she must decide who she dares to trust. Her magic could destroy her-or become the key to restoring a world that has forgotten what it means to be free.