Sasha Miller

"Times are changing in Rendelsham. The old King is dead, and the foolish Prince Florian has assumed the throne. Florian's mother, Queen Ysa of the House of Oak, still controls the land from behind the scenes, but her job grows more difficult every day. Her unworthy, headstrong son is harder to control than her husband was, and she must spend more time than ever masking her own movements. The barbarian Sea-Rover clan presents problems from the edge of the Bog, Ysa's newest magical ally has been exposed as a traitor, and still the unknown yet encroaching threat from the North continues to grow.". "Ashen, heir to the nearly dead House of Ash and illegitimate half-sister of the boy king, is the only force for good in the kingdom. To keep her further from the throne, Ysa has arranged for her to be married and far from Rendelsham - and Ashen, eager to be away from the predatory politics of the palace, is happy to go. But duty overwhelms personal desire in matters of the court, and soon she must return to Rendelsham for the good of the kingdom.". "Through births and deaths, marriages and duels, love and betrayal, magic and force, the four Houses of Rendelsham can only survive by the strength of their unity - but is unity possible in such a court of intrigue as this one?"--BOOK JACKET.

"The earth is shaking and splitting as the forces from the North draw nearer. The Ice Dragon Riders are speaking to the land, and more fire mountains awaken in the Bog. Rohan seeks to join forces with Tusser, leader of the Bog-folk, as Queen Ysa raises an army to clear the Bog.". "War draws closer until even the Queen cannot deny it any longer. Raids from the North increase, and for the first time the Riders of the Ice Dragons appear. It is time for the Queen to give up her game of pitting one faction against another. Four great armies assemble and they all march under the same banner. Though they do not - cannot - represent the Four Trees, this is nevertheless seen as a good omen.". "Many good men from all four armies fall in battle, yet the Great Foulness is still at large. Is the combined might of the four powers enough to free the land from evil?"--BOOK JACKET.

"Oak, Yew, Ash, and Rowan; the four powers of the world, all once great and mighty, now yielding to the effects of centuries of war. A King of Oak and a Queen of Yew sit on the thrones of the land - the King a drunken lout, the Queen a magical schemer. Ash and Rowan are nearly dead, their totem trees in the sacred square withering away to nothing.". "All is falling into place for the power-hungry Queen Ysa, who will stop at nothing to ensure the continuation of her line. Her expertise in the dark arts all but guarantees her success, and the wooden rings of royalty have transferred themselves to her hands of their own accord. Nothing and no one escapes her notice or her wrath. Only one thing may stand in her way: a long-ago prophecy that a Daughter of Ash will one day rise again to reclaim her rightful place on the throne. Queen Ysa's shrewd machinations have seen to it that none of the House of Ash remains alive, and she is content that her rule is secure." "But deep in the swamps, in the care of the witch-healer all need and fear, there is a young girl-woman who cannot be the witch's daughter; a girl who, in fact, by virtue of her beauty, elegance, and simmering power can only be a Daughter of Ash, the one who will rise to fulfill the prophecy - and the destiny of her birthright."--BOOK JACKET.

The triumphant conclusion to the three-book Witch World series The Turning. When the witches of Estcarp combined their powers in a magical turning to prevent the invasion of Karsten, the world was plunged into chaos. Now the survivors struggle to defeat the invaders and rebuild their shattered lives.

Winning the love of the newly restored kingdom of NordornLand, rulers Ashen and Guarin focus on raising their children, including power-hungry thirteen-year-old Elin, and eleven-year-old Mikkel, who is taken prisoner after stowing away on a Sea-Rover ship.