A
nation born of angels, vast and intricate and surrounded by danger… a
woman born to servitude, unknowingly given access to the secrets of the
realm…
Born with a scarlet mote in her left eye, Phédre nó
Delaunay is sold into indentured servitude as a child. When her bond is
purchased by an enigmatic nobleman, she is trained in history, theology,
politics, foreign languages, the arts of pleasure. And above all, the
ability to observe, remember, and analyze. Exquisite courtesan, talented
spy… and unlikely heroine. But when Phédre stumbles upon a plot that
threatens her homeland, Terre d’Ange, she has no choice.
Betrayed
into captivity in the barbarous northland of Skaldia and accompanied
only by a disdainful young warrior-priest, Phédre makes a harrowing
escape and an even more harrowing journey to return to her people and
deliver a warning of the impending invasion. And that proves only the
first step in a quest that will take her to the edge of despair and
beyond.
Phédre nó Delaunay is the woman who holds the keys to her
realm’s deadly secrets, and whose courage will decide the very future
of her world.
Not since Dune has there been an epic on the scale of Kushiel’s Dart-a
massive tale about the violent death of an old age and the birth of a
new. It is a novel of grandeur, luxuriance, sacrifice, betrayal, and
deeply laid conspiracies. A world of cunning poets, deadly courtiers,
deposed rulers and a besieged Queen, a warrior-priest, the Prince of
Travelers, barbarian warlords, heroic traitors, and a truly
Machiavellian villainess… all seen through the unflinching eyes of an
unforgettable heroine.