K.M. Shea's Blog, page 56

The Price of Magic…

Hello, Champions! I hope you all had a pleasant weekend. Today we’re continuing with our magic theme by taking a look at the way the price of magic has changed from the Snow Queen books to the Timeless Fairy Tales.

As you might recall from my previous post, I mentioned that magic users who pay a price to use their magic usually are a lot more powerful, like the Snow Queen. So why haven’t you seen anybody with a price in the modern timeless fairy tales?

There’s three reasons for that. First of all, the only magic users who have that kind of power are the enchanters and enchantresses. Thus far you’ve only seen Angelique, an enchantress-in-training. You haven’t seen Angelique’s price because she actually hasn’t used her core magic in front of anyone yet. As you may have pieced together between Cinderella and the Wild Swans, Angelique is extremely reluctant to use her core magic, and as a result mostly uses her auxiliary powers–which are much less powerful and would never activate her price.

Another reason why you haven’t seen it, is because the stakes and the situations are entirely different. Rakel and her people faced enslavement and war. Currently, Angelique and the other magic users are more focused on putting out fires so to speak than an actual war. They haven’t had to use the same amount of power that Rakel has, so their prices haven’t kicked in yet either.

The final reason, is that the magic users have gotten a lot better at working around their price. They’ve had time to research, experiment, and explore. Not to mention Rakel founded the first Academy for magic users, and it’s been centuries since then. The most obvious way you can see that magic usage has progressed and improved, is the use of actual spells.

In Snow Queen, magic users channel their magic in a raw format. In the Timeless Fairy Tales, magic users often have to say magic words, or follow a spell, but the trade-off is that they can do more complex things. For enchanters and enchantresses, when they use their core magic they use it in the same raw format that Rakel used her magic. When they use their auxiliary powers, they have to use tools in order to make it possible. I’ll soon be doing a post that focuses on enchanters and enchantresses and how Rakel was the start of their line, but for now we’re focusing on price.

So if you haven’t seen any enchanters or enchantresses use their magic and activate a price, how do you know it still exists in the Timeless Fairy Tale world? The answer, is to look at the villains. In The Little Selkie, a sea witch uses the blood of innocent marine animals to raise chaotic storms that cut off Ringsted. She didn’t have the power to do that using her own magic, she had to supplement her magic with the blood of the sea creatures. The witch who nearly takes over Arcainia–Clotilde–is similar. She uses dark tools to supplement her powers–without them she wouldn’t be a match for Puss, much less Angelique.

Those who are good also have ways of supplementing their power. Their methods, however, still keep checks and balance. For instance, Angelique is unable to entirely break off curses because she lacks the schooling. She is able, however, to modify the curses. Unfortunately, she only knows two modifiers; true love’s first kiss, or true love itself. Even if she was fully schooled, the modifiers would still be relatively slim pickings. Angelique explains it in Wild Swans, when she tells Elise that an act of love is what can destroy the curse Clotilde has put on the princes of Arcainia. This means Angelique would never be able to break off a curse without an equally strong but good counter.

If you are anxious to see an actual “price”–like Rakel’s unconsciousness–in Timeless Fairy Tales, fear not! Angelique and Master Evariste both have prices that will be revealed in the final books.

That’s probably all I should say for today, otherwise this is going to turn into an essay. Hopefully you found that interesting–if there’s anything you would like cleared up, shout it out in the comments section. Until next time, thanks for reading, Champions!

The Limits of Magic…

Good day, Champions! This is your reminder that this week Friday, April 15, Princess Ahira will be available on Amazon for free! In the meantime, good luck to everybody who is scrambling to submit their taxes in America.

Okay, last week I mentioned I was a little short on ideas for blog posts. You Champions pulled through for me, and gave me a bunch of ideas to talk about. Today’s topic will be the “limits” of magic in the Timeless Fairy Tale series and the Snow Queen books.

First, I need to lay down some building blocks. As some of you have noticed, there’s a big difference between the way magic is used in the Snow Queen books and the rest of the Timeless Fairy Tale series. The reason for that is time. The Snow Queen lives before magic was widely used and accepted. Very little was known about it, exploring it was discouraged, and those who had it were persecuted or enslaved. The Timeless Fairy Tale series takes place centuries later, which means they’ve had a long time to research and develop magic.

(As a side note, I do have plans to release other fairy tales that take place between the Snow Queen and the Timeless Fairy Tales, which will illustrate the developmental journey magic takes through the years. )

A main feature of the Snow Queen books is the presence of a limit or price to magic. It’s implied that those who have a lot of magic, like Rakel, usually have prices. Magic users who do not have as powerful magic, or as much magic, have limits. As you might guess, having a “price” is a lot rarer, but the Snow Queen is filled with it because Rakel is the main heroine, and her power saddles her with a price.

So, let’s dig into limits! An example of a magic user with limits is Tollak. Tollak is an early version of a craftmage. He is limited in what he can do because he doesn’t know much about his powers, but his real magic “limit” is how much magic he can channel, how quickly he can do it, and what he can enchant. It’s not often discussed in the book because you see him so little, and very little is known about magic… but you can see his constraints in his Timeless Fairy Tales equivalent, Rumpelstiltskin.

Rumpelstiltskin is also a craft mage. As you might recall from his book, he does have a few limits to his magic. First of all, a low-quality item can only hold low-quality spells. Conversely, a high-quality item can hold high-quality spells and more spells. What this means is that Rumpelstiltskin cannot churn out high-quality enchantments with cheap products. Additionally, time is a constraint for him. Rumpelstiltskin is considered the strongest craft mage alive because he can work his enchantments stronger and faster than the other craft mages. However, the enchantments still take time. For example, in Rumpelstiltskin, Stil says that he can enchant 100 swords in a day. (Other craftmages can produce approximately twelve a day.) Stil maxes out at 100. It’s a higher number, but it’s still a limit. He can’t go faster than that, nor can he sustain it forever.

The same rules apply to Tollak, he just doesn’t know it. Stil attended an Academy, has reference books, served as an apprentice, and more. Tollak had to make it up as he goes. Think of it like this: Stil can read books and spells created by every craftmage before him. Tollak is the author of the first craftmage reference books.

I do feel like I need to give Stil his proper due. Because he’s such a powerful craftmage, he actually has an additional “limit” that very few other craftmages have had. You’ll recall it from his book—if Stil is crafting a specific/customized spell for a person, he needs some sort of compensation. It doesn’t have to be an equal trade, but it’s still required. (Anything he makes in advance, or anything that isn’t cued to a specific person, skirts this requirement.) This is because Stil is that genius of a craftmage, it helps keep him in check.

So the limits of magic themselves haven’t changed much—the biggest difference is that now the mages know they are there and make sure they work within the boundaries. However, there are ways to work around a few of these limits, just as there are ways for powerful magic users to lessen the “price” of magic, but that’s another post for another time, and I’ve rambled enough for today.

I hope you found this interesting. Enjoy Princess Ahira, have a great week, and thank you for reading!

Snow Queen

Hello champions! I want to open up today’s post with a reminder that if there’s anything you’d like me to specifically talk about—whether it’s something about my books, writing, or just life in general— don’t be afraid to shout it out in the comments! Sometimes it’s hard to come up with content for my blog, mostly because I don’t know if you’re getting sick of a particular topic, or if there’s something else you’d rather discuss.

I say that because the past few weeks I’ve been at a loss as to what I should discuss in my posts. I know I should write about snow Queen, however, that series is so full of spoilers for the future of the Timeless Fairy Tale series, that I’m a little leery of mentioning it. You Champions are too intelligent!

I am grateful and humbled, though, by the amazing support you guys gave Sacrifice. The Snow Queen books have been my best sellers to date, and I’m thrilled by the overwhelmingly positive response to with them. In fact, right now Amazon.uk and Amazon.au are running specials on Heart of Ice as part of a month-long deal. Hear t of Ice’s price has been significantly slashed on those two stores, so if you use Amazon.uk or Amazon.au please check it out!

Finally, I’m going to wrap up this post by adding that Princess Ahira is going to be for free on April 15 to celebrate the due date of American taxes. ( Myrrhlynn pointed out to me it would’ve been a lot more appropriate if Cinderella and the Colonel was the selected celebration book due to Cinderella’s struggle against taxes. Unfortunately, I had already set up the special, or I would’ve changed it!)

That is it for today, Champions! Again, if you’ve anything you wish to discuss, please shout it out in the comments or send me a message. Thank you for being awesome, and thank you for reading!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter, Champions!

Yes, it’s a little early, but I imagine you’ll all be busy on the actual date, so I wanted to get my well-wishes out to all of you today. I hope you all have a wonderful Easter weekend! My family has a tradition of making and decorating cupcakes for Easter, which really means we pile roughly the cupcake’s thickness of frosting on top of it, so I’m gearing up for an extreme sugar high. I hope you also get a chance to enjoy some special Easter treats!

Usually I try to have an Easter gift for you guys…but sadly I totally failed on that this year. Myrrhlynn, however, pulled through for me! If you haven’t noticed, this week Enchanted (book 2 of King Arthurs) got a new cover. Ta-da!

New Covers, gotta love ’em!

Thanks, Myrrhlynn, for the beautiful new cover! It really is an awesome image–in particular I love the angle the cover/photo was taken from. (Truthfully I thought the previous cover was great, but it was really bothering her, and she has an artist soul, so Enchanted was getting a new cover regardless. ;) )

As a side note, Sacrifice has had an amazing first month–it achieved the highest book rank I’ve ever snagged (#171) and all of your amazing and well-thought reviews have brought me a lot of joy and some great observations to take forward to new books. Thank you so much for being my Champions, and for going down this wild ride with me. I can’t wait for our next adventure! Until next time, have a Happy Easter!

Final Freebie Unlocked

Greetings, Champions! As expected, the final freebie has been unlocked: Mages. This is the longest freebie of the bunch and marks the beginning of Rakel’s next step in life. I hope you enjoy it!

As some of you might have seen if you took a peek at my coming soon page, this December I’ll be releasing a short story anthology that will contain all the Snow Queen freebies, and one additional–and LONG–unseen story that will focus on Rakel as she builds the first magic academy, and the romantic entanglements of a certain Robber Maiden. For now I’ll leave everything on the site, but when I release the anthology I’ll have to take down a few of the freebies due to Amazon’s rules, but I’ll be sure to announce when I’m taking them down so everyone can save them if they so desire. There’s no need to hurry, though, as the anthology is a long ways away.

Status update for Swan Lake: It is currently with Editor #1. She’ll keep it for a few weeks and rip it apart edit it–although I did proudly tell her I believe I actually used farther/further correct in several instances. (I think I can count on one hand the number of times that has actually happened, so we’ll wait to find out.)

In fun news, I’m going to be experimenting with “Dragon,” which is a software program that converts your speech to text. A lot of writers use it to write faster, but I’m also hoping it will give my eyes a break. (Take care of your eyes, everyone. Eye-strain is no joke!) So I’m sure I’ll be able to regale you all with stories of our strange relationship. As a Midwest girl I have a some-what funny/slurred way of speaking, so Dragon and I are going to be in for some fun times. I was “training” him earlier so he can hopefully get over my accent, and I have to say it feels very sci-fi–ish.

I thought you budding writers out there might be interested in learning about this software, because “Dragon” actually has a phone app that can connect with your purchased software, so you can dictate your story to him anywhere, and then upload it to your computer which will turn the recorded session into text. This might be super helpful for those of you who have a busy schedule. It actually can plug in to your internet too–so you can write emails with him–but I think I’m going to use my Dragon for strictly fiction writing. (Yes, Myrrhlynn was rather amused when she realized I call Dragon a He and refer to him as mine. I can’t help it–I adore “How to Tame your Dragon!”)

That’s all for today, Champions! I’ll have a few more Snow Queen themed blog posts coming up now that all the freebies have been unlocked, so you can count on seeing those soon. Until then, Champions, have a fantastic week, and as always, thank you for reading!

Fourth Extra Unlocked!

Anndddd here we have it, Oskar’s extra! That’s right, thanks to all you wonderful Champions, the fourth extra has been unlocked. You can see the PDF version of it here: The Attendant.

Words cannot describe how MUCH I have wanted to release this one! I actually wrote it before I wrote Heart of Ice–it was one of my ‘exercises’ that helped me get to know Oskar’s character and background. I wanted to release it with Heart of Ice, but as Oskar’s heart-t0-heart moment with Rakel comes in Sacrifice, I made myself wait.

Oskar holds a very special place in my heart because he is the first person to believe in Rakel. Steinar and Halvor were close seconds, but Oskar first met Rakel when she was eight, and then pledged loyalty to her (though she didn’t know it) two years later when she was exiled at age ten. He stayed on Ensom Peak with her for twelve years. Give that boy a round of applause! (Side note, I almost always write applesauce instead of applause. Strange.)

If you dig in the books, it’s very interesting to see how Rakel’s first “believers” (Oskar, Steinar, and Halvor) see her differently. Steinar saw her as his sister who should rightfully be queen, and felt a lot of guilt that he was raised in her place. Oskar saw early on that Rakel was human, but due to his palace training he was well aware that she was a royal so he tried to treat her with kind dignity. Halvor respected Rakel, and probably had the greatest grasp of her strength of character because he had a better idea of what she was capable of.

You can also see the differences in the way they argue with her. Oskar will give Rakel whatever she wants unless it puts her in danger. Halvor is much more reserved and will always move to do what is tactically best, though he knows he is more than a little partial and is a lot more reluctant to put her in danger than he would a normal soldier. Steinar, on the other hand, tries to bargain with her and talk her into things.

One of the challenging parts of writing the Snow Queen books, is that because Rakel represents magic–which is hated–and brings about huge changes, the way people reacted to her is revealing of their character. For example, think of Phile. She was never afraid of Rakel’s magic, never hesitated to call her out on her actions, and held Rakel to a higher standard than most of the people in the resistance. Phile’s reaction to magic was pretty similar. She thought it was something useful–not scary–and assumed that if someone had it, it was meant to be used.

Well that’s all for today. I need to go take Perfect Dog out on a walk while it’s sunny! I hope you all enjoy the extra. Thanks again, Champions. You are the best! (Just a short ways to go until the last freebie is released.) As always, thanks for reading!

Third Extra Unlocked

It’s time to celebrate–you Champions unlocked the third Snow Queen extra: Arrivals. Arrivals is the first scene from Sacrifice, told from the viewpoint of Tenebris Malus. It’s a very interesting and revealing piece that let me reveal the backstory I made for Tenebris, that I never got the chance to explore.

I hope you guys enjoy it! It’s a little more shiver-inducing than heart-warming, but I really wanted to convey to you Champions what kind of a villain Tenebris was.

In other news, on Tuesday I got a chance to hang out on the Sci-Fi and Fantasy Marketing Podcast with hosts Lindsay Buroker, Joe Lallo, and Jeff Poole. They are an awesome and hilarious trio, which is good because I was petrified for about 99% of the interview. You can tell by how quickly and how LOUDLY I talk. Ugh. I really dislike talking about myself to begin with (so knowingly recording a podcast brings me to terror level eight out of ten) but I’m also a longtime listener of the podcast and I really admire Lindsay, Joe, and Jeff, so that sent my fright level to Godzilla Invasion. (See again speed and volume at which I talk!)

The podcast is meant to help newbie authors, so we’re mostly talking shop (Think marketing, writing for a niche like fairy tales, etc) although I do moon over you Champions on a few occasions. If you are interested in listening to my terrified babble, here’s a link to the podcast! (If you visit, please tell ’em I sent you!)

I know a lot of you have left comments on my blog, and I really want to get back to you, but I’m currently away from my office and I’m using snail speed internet, so I’m going to wait to respond until tomorrow. In the meantime, I hope you find the new extra enlightening! Thanks for reading, Champions, and thank you for leaving such amazing reviews. (It’s obviously not because I am a charismatic person. Seriously, uuuggghhhh! I debated not sharing the podcast with you guys because I sound like Mickey Mouse!) I hope you guys reach 100 reviews as fast as you reached 75–the next freebie is about Oskar, and I’ve had this written since I started planning Heart of Ice!

Second Extra Unlocked

Well done, Champions! You’ve unlocked the second extra: Tour of Ostfold Part 2 This is a continuation of the “Tour of Ostfold Part 1” freebie that I released with Heart of Ice. If you haven’t read that one yet, I suggest you go over to the freebies section (located under the aptly named freebies tab) and give the first one a quick read. Thank you to everyone for reviewing, I do appreciate your feedback!

In other news, most appropriately parts of the Midwest–including my dear Wisconsin–got dumped with a few inches of snow yesterday. March is kind of a jerk in Wisconsin as it usually teases us with warm weather and then smacks us with a winter storm, so this was not really a surprise, but when I was glancing over my Snow Queen freebies–looking for errors–it did put me in the spirit of the book.

Ahhh Star Wars and Sarcasm, the merging of some of my favorite things!

Things are going with Swan Lake. I’m fiddling a little bit with its villain, Rothbart. It seems to me that he doesn’t pop up in the story often enough, so I’ll have to go back and add him into another scene or two. I like Odette–the main heroine–a lot! Rakel was much more cool tempered and internally emotional. Odette is sarcastic and mouthy–my favorite when writing characters!

Sadly that’s all I have time to share today. Don’t worry, I will be writing some more Snow Queen themed posts, I’m just a little short on time. Perfect Dog had her teeth cleaned at the dentist and the anesthesia has her a little groggy so she’s stumbling around a lot.  I don’t want her going up and down stairs in that condition, and my office is in the basement, so I need to jet.

So thank you for reading, Champions! I’ve loved reading all your kind and thoughtful notes and reviews. Thank you for being my readers! Until next time, take care.

First Extra Unlocked!

I’m so happy to say that the reaction to Sacrifice has been overwhelmingly positive! That creates a huge sense of relief in me–I love writing stories, but in particular I love writing stories that enchant or entertain. I want to create stories that people enjoy, so release day is always a strange mixture of joy and apprehension for me, because that’s when I find out if I succeeded or not.

Thank you, Champions, for your patience in waiting for Sacrifice! The Snow Queen series was a bit of an experiment because it’s the first fairy tale to span more than one book. I really enjoyed having the extra book to bring in new characters and to dig deeper into old favorites–like Phile and Oskar. What did you guys think of the two-book fairy tale? Did you like it more or less? Was it about the same? Rakel faces a heck of a lot more oppression than say Cinderella or Elle, so I feel like this two-book system wouldn’t work for many of my fairy tales–like the upcoming Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty–but I have other stories in mind for similar treatment, so I am curious to hear what you think about it.

Observations aside, you Champions have unlocked the first Snow Queen short: Throne of the Snow Queen–which takes place the summer after Rakel first wakes up. I hope you enjoy it! Thank you, everyone, who took the time to review Sacrifice! Reviews play a bit role in book visibility, so I appreciate it, and your valuable feedback.

That’s all for today! Thank you for reading, Champions, and thank you for all your lovely messages. They never fail to encourage me. :)

Sacrifice

Set your sails for Verglas, Champions, Sacrifice has arrived! Truthfully I’m struggling to think of something else to say, but I’m betting 90% of you have clicked on the link and zipped away to look at the new shiny, so I may as well shut up. For you poor souls who can’t get it yet, click the “Read More” link below for an excerpt of the first few pages.

I can’t wait to hear what you all think of it! After you finish it, please leave an honest review on Amazon or Goodreads! Just as I did with Heart of Ice, for every 25 reviews left, I’ll unlock a new Snow Queen freebie. (For the list of freebies check the top post.) Thanks, Champions. I really hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 1

Arrivals

The wind stung Farrin Graydim’s face and pushed some of his black-brown hair into his eyes, but he didn’t stir.

His regiment—the First Regiment, or as it was fondly called by Tenebris, the Fighting First—glittered like a sea of metal behind him in neat, orderly rows. They stood silent as they faced the snow-covered road that wove through a thick, untamed forest.

Dryden—one of the magic users under his command—stirred at his side.

“It’s freezing.” She pulled her cloak tight and brushed her button nose, red with the cold. “Bluff, can’t you do anything to warm it up?”

Bluff snorted. “Sure, if you can stop an avalanche.” He sneezed and rubbed his ears.

Farrin ignored the idle chit-chat and kept his gaze on the forest. The field of snow that stood between the woods and his men created a terrible glare that was difficult to see past.

“I hate this wretched country.” Dryden was hard to understand thanks to her chattering teeth. “Spring is just weeks away, and it’s as cold as it was in the dead of winter.”

Bunny snorted. She was the only one of their bunch who appeared untouched by the cold. She wore nothing more than a long-sleeved tunic, pants, and padded boots. “I think we have Princess Rakel to thank for that.”

Her observations pulled Farrin from his dutiful watch. Princess Rakel. How things will change for her when Tenebris arrives.

“Princess Rakel,” Dryden growled. “If I could get one minute alone with her—”

“She’d freeze you solid, and then you would complain even more,” Bluff said.

“She would not!” Dryden said. “I would get her before she could work her magic on me.”

“Would not,” Bluff said.

“Would too!”

“Would not!”

“Enough,” Farrin said. He cast a critical eye for his troops, searching for the slightest blemish or relaxed stance. They need to be perfect.

The magic users fell silent.

When the first few soldiers on horseback stepped toward them from the darkness of the forest, his fingers twitched as he automatically reached for his two-handed broadsword—which wasn’t there. Clever Rakel, he thought, recalling, with admiration and irritation, the way she’d swiped the weapon from him. He missed the sword like an amputated limb.

The mounted party emerged from the forest. Farrin shielded his eyes to make out the army insignia on the lead horse’s saddle blanket—there! He raised his arm in the air and shouted, “Salute!”

The First Regiment moved as one, raising their arms in respect as Tenebris Malus—the leader of the Allegiance of the Chosen Army—and his retinue rode across the barren, snowy field.

When he reached the edge of their forces, Tenebris dismounted.

“Tenebris!” Sunnira—one of Farrin’s healers and friends—broke ranks and ran up to the esteemed leader, throwing her arms around him.

Tenebris laughed as she attached herself to his arm. “You look well, Sunnira. I hope you have been taking care of my army.”

“Of course,” Sunnira said.

Tenebris patted her hands and passed off the reins of his horse to one of his companions. He stretched his neck and strolled towards Farrin—who hadn’t yet broken rank.

He held his salute. “Sir.”

“At ease, Farrin,” Tenebris said. He slapped him on the shoulder and offered him a wide smile. It was a happy one, Farrin was relieved to see. Tenebris smiled whether he was angry or pleased, but his smiles of rage always showed more of his teeth.

Tenebris Malus was a mysterious man. Though he was short and thin through the shoulders, he had a heavy aura of power. His face was bland but pleasant, and he almost always wore a helm or cap of some sort—though one could see strands of his gold-brown hair leaking out on occasion. His eyes were unusual, though. They were round like marbles, and their pupils were more disk-like than circular. They were gold in color, and hooded, which gave him a calculated air.

“Thank you, sir.” Farrin motioned for his regiment to drop the salute. They complied.

“Still as well organized as ever—and a sight for sore eyes. Kavon lets his mercenary troops run wild like savages.” Tenebris nodded once. “I cannot fault him. Those without magic are little more than animals—though it is good to see you have broken yours into submission.” He smiled again, and something in Farrin twitched at the harsh words.

Farrin straightened his shoulders. “It is our honor to have you with us.”

“I’m sure.” Tenebris shielded his eyes from the brilliant sun. “It has been too long since I’ve ridden with you and the Fighting First. I look forward to speaking with you—and Sunnira.” He spared the healer another smile.

Sunnira cocked her head. “What took you so long to come?”

Beside Farrin, Bluff gaped in shock at her impertinent question until Bunny kicked him in the back of the knee.

“Varmints started stirring in the south just when I thought it was time to come north,” Tenebris sighed. “I stayed to help Grimick stamp them out, but they’re worse than sewer rats.”

“Varmints?” Farrin asked.

“Some farmers and commoners playing rebel. Though they should be easy to crush, they’ve burned two outposts and reclaimed several villages—all in the name of their beloved Snow Queen.” A frown lurked on Tenebris’s lips, making the gold of his eyes glow. “We razed a few villages, but they still prowl around in the hills. In the end, I decided it would be quicker to kill their ‘hero’ than to keep hunting them down individually.”

Farrin kept his expression passive, but he couldn’t stop his hands from curling into fists. The inevitable clash of his affection for Rakel and his loyalty to Tenebris had arrived. “I see. Shall I take you to your quarters, sir?”

“Yes, thanks, Runt,” Tenebris said, moving to walk shoulder to shoulder with Farrin. Sunnira still held his arm, and Bluff, Bunny, and Dryden fell in line behind them.

“Released,” Farrin shouted.

The foot soldiers and the rest of the magic users broke out of formation, moving on with their duties as Farrin escorted their leader to the best tent.

“I must say, Runt, I am upset,” Tenebris continued. “It isn’t like you to leave an enemy alive.”

“I regret that I have disappointed you,” Farrin said.

Tenebris slapped his shoulder again. “Don’t take it to heart. You haven’t ever failed me before. You were bound to do so eventually—though I must admit, I didn’t think your lesson of humility would come from a thin-skinned, worthless princess.”

“With all due respect, sir, no one who has met Princess Rakel would call her thin-skinned or useless,” Farrin said.

“We’ll see,” Tenebris said. “In the meantime, I’ve changed my mind about the Verglas citizens.”

Farrin dared to hope for a moment. “Oh?”

“Yes. We’ll have to cull most of them.”

“Cull?” Bluff asked. He swallowed hard when Tenebris glanced back at him. “I-I beg your pardon, sir.”

“No harm, boy. I meant we’ll have to kill ’em. They’re too stubborn and too prone to hope. They’ll make lousy slaves unless we limit their numbers,” Tenebris said. He wore a smile and spoke in a pleasant tone—as if they were discussing plans for a celebration.

Farrin stopped outside the black tent he had ordered to be pitched for Tenebris. “Do you really think it is necessary to found our country with such slaughter?”

“Necessary? No. But it will make it easier.” Tenebris swatted his free hand through the air. “And with the way this war has carried on, we need all the help we can get. I planned for us to hold the entire country by now. As my officers were unable to achieve that, we’ll have to cut corners where we can.”

Farrin looked at Tenebris as if seeing him for the first time. I have always known Tenebris is a man without mercy to those who oppose him, but this—the slaughter of thousands of innocent people?

As if sensing Farrin’s thoughts, Tenebris arched one of his eyebrows and gave Farrin a toothy smile. “Next time don’t fail me,” he said.

“Farrin did his best,” Sunnira said diplomatically. “The problem is Princess Rakel. She was much stronger than any of us could have predicted.”

Tenebris shrugged. “That’s an easy fix. Once she’s killed, the resistance will run out of traction.”

A muscle twitched in Farrin’s cheek. He made his expression apathetic and hoped no one noticed.

Sunnira shook her head. “You need to be careful with her, Tenebris. Farrin did well against her because of his magic, but she could trample anyone else.”

Tenebris grinned and pinched Sunnira’s cheek. “You think she’s better than me, you impudent brat?” he asked, his voice warm with affection.

“I think she’s a monster,” Sunnira said.

Farrin wished she would stop talking.

“Well, it’s a good thing I am one as well.” Tenebris pointed to the tent. “Is this it?”

“I hope it meets your expectations, sir,” Farrin said.

“I’m sure it will. Give me a few hours to get settled, and I’ll meet up with you and your little trainees for dinner,” Tenebris said. “That means you, too, Sunnira.”

Sunnira kissed Tenebris’s cheek. “You don’t need to tell me—you aggravating man. I have patients to attend to.” She winked at their leader, waved to Farrin, and drifted off in the direction of the medical tent.

Farrin bowed. “Welcome to the First Regiment, sir.”