The Song of the Marked (Shadows and Crowns, #1)

by S.M. Gaither

Luck was a lesser-spirit that only the lazy and the foolish prayed to.

So Cas almost had to admit that Varen had a point about one thing: If his ancestors had not crushed those marked ones, then perhaps history would have seen the magic-users rise to a destructive power. Perhaps this was simply how the world was, no matter what? An endless trading of places between the oppressors and the oppressed? The same song on repeat, with continuously rewritten lyrics…

That magic allows Elander to see the lives of the deceased pass before his eyes—which comes in very handy when you’ve killed an enemy target who has valuable secrets, for example. It’s also an excellent magical skill to assist healers in bettering their craft, because it allows them to see the details regarding what killed a person. Usually.” “Usually?” “For those who have passed from the Fade, when they depart to the afterlife, there’s…” He trailed off, looking frustrated. “Nothing but silence,” Elander finished as he stepped out of the room. “Silence and a bright light that won’t let me read anything about their life, including how it was prematurely ended.”