Sarah Ash

From Sarah Ash, acclaimed author of the Tears of Artamon trilogy, comes the conclusion to the story begun in Tracing the Shadow, a fantasy masterpiece of truly epic proportions. In a clash of kingdoms and rebels, of magicians and inquisitors, two young mages must find the resolution and courage they need to save both the world...and themselves.As an impulsive young man, Rieuk Mordiern accidentally freed Azilis--a guardian spirit charged with keeping the balance between the kingdoms of the living and the dead. And now his sole purpose is to bring her back: to restore the balance that he so carelessly upset. Only Azilis does not want to return. Instead she has attached herself to a very talented mortal--the renowned singer Celestine--becoming, as Celestine believes, her personal guardian. And Celestine has never needed a guardian more. Her desire for revenge against the people who consigned her magician father to the flames is leading her farther down a dangerous path as she learns to use the powers he deeded her at his death. Powers that are bringing her to the attention of an Inquisition determined to stamp out every last trace of magic from the world.But chaos is growing. Seven daemons from another realm, once imprisoned, are now threatening to return and lay siege to the mortal world. The boundaries between life and death are slowly eroding. And to prevent the end of all things, both Rieuk and Celestine must discover what it means to truly be a hero....From the Hardcover edition.

A weaver of tales, a caster of spells, and a writer of rare imagination, Sarah Ash lends her unique vision to epic fantasy. In this captivating continuation to her story, the author of Lord of Snow and Shadows revisits a realm filled with spirits and singers, daemons and kings.Gavril Nagarian has finally cast out the dragon-daemon from deep within himself. The Drakhaoul is gone--and with it all of Gavril's fearsome powers. Though no longer besieged by the Drakhaoul's unnatural lusts and desires, Gavril has betrayed his birthright and his people. He has put the ice-bound princedom of Azhkendir at risk and lost.Emerging from his battle with the Lord Drakhaon scarred but victorious, Eugene of Tielen exacts a terrible price. He arrests the renegade warlord Gavril Nagarian for crimes against the Rossiyan Empire and sentences him to life in an insane asylum--for the absence of the Drakhaoul is slowly driving Gavril mad. But Eugene has another motive as well. He longs to possess the Drakhaoul--at any cost to his kingdom and his humanity. With Gavril locked inside the Iron Tower, three women keep his memory alive. His mother returns to the warmer climes of her homeland, where she foments the seeds of rebellion. A young scullery maid whose heart is broken by Gavril's arrest sends her spirit out to the Ways Beyond. And even the emperor's new wife is haunted by her remembrances of the handsome young painter who once captured her soul.The five princedoms of a shattered empire are reunited. The last of Artamon's ruby tears adorns Eugene's crown. But peace is as fragile as a rebel's whisper--and a captive's wish to be free.Glowing with the powers of light and darkness, Prisoner of the Iron Tower will astonish and enthrall you, as courtly intrigue collides with the fantastic--and good and evil become as nebulous as the outlines of a dream.From the Hardcover edition.

In this third novel in her acclaimed Tears of Artamon saga, Sarah Ash once again transports readers to a realm where sorcery collides with political intrigue...and where one man haunted by a dark legacy is locked in a fierce struggle between the forces of good and evil battling for supremacy within him....Gavril Nagarian is believed dead--perished in the heat of battle. But the Lord Drakhaon of Azhkendir lives on. Now he is entrusted with a sacred mission: to rescue the aged Magus, who has been kidnapped and in whose possession are the five priceless rubies that compose the fabled Tears of Artamon. Ancient law decrees that whoever possesses the coveted stones has the power to impose his rule over the five princedoms in the Empire of New Rossiya.But the task exacts a cost. The Drakhaoul that destroyed his forebears has penetrated Gavril's psyche and is gaining power over his soul. With the dark forces inside him seeking immortality, Gavril must feed on the blood of innocents--or die.Toppled by the loss of the Tears of Artamon, Emperor Eugene of Tielen is tormented by his own daemon. Now he must defend his lands against King Enguerrand of Francia, who claims ownership of the Tears. But both men share a common goal: to destroy Gavril Nagarian and the Drakhaoul that lives within him once and for all.Ingenious and unforgettable, Children of the Serpent Gate delivers a thrilling conclusion to the epic trials of a man of honor in a world run amok--a calamity that can be laid to rest only by an Emperor's Tears.From the Hardcover edition.

Rescuing a starving young orphan girl from the streets, a member of the much feared Guerriers of the Commanderie's Inquisition is unaware that the child is the daughter of one of the mages they had just burned at the stake, and as Celestine grows to womanhood, her beautiful singing voice could provide the key to revenge on the betrayer who destroyed her father.