When Shadows Rise (Book 1) - Haley Sulich - Wattpad

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When Shadows Rise (Book 1)

Reads 207,979
Votes 14,033
Parts 42
Time 7h 40m

Wattys winner

Reads 207,979
Votes 14,033
Parts 42
Time 7h 40m

Wattys winner

A magic-addicted spy trapped in the queen's service must track a princess-turned-assassin in order to earn her freedom, but things get complicated when she falls for the princess she's supposed to capture. 

*****

Weak. Cursed. That's how seventeen-year-old Kayden Branimir, the realm's deadliest assassin, views herself. Some believe she could save the world with her rare healing magic, but she gave up on her powers long ago after failing to save her best friend. Her life changes when she receives a letter from her supposedly dead twin brother, Alaric, begging to be rescued from rival territory Leodia. For the first time since her friend's accident, Kayden is determined to be the hero, but she must learn to embrace her magic--and herself--along the way. 

Strange. Unnatural. Those are the words whispered about eighteen-year-old Zara Tait, a Leodian spy addicted to soul-stealing magic. Forced into the queen's service, Zara wants to escape and return home, but she has nothing to offer the queen in exchange for her freedom. When Kayden arrives in Leodia, Zara sees the quiet girl with unique magic as the bargaining chip she needs. But the more she learns of Kayden, the more her feelings grow. Now, Zara must choose between her freedom and the dangerous assassin she hadn't meant to fall for.


[2020 Watty Award Winner]

Content warning:  This story contains mature themes of violence, addiction, abuse, self-harm, and mental illness.

Cover by Faera LaneAll Rights Reserved

Table of contents

42 parts

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A Masquerade of Spiders by EinatSegal

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Slide 1 of 9

A Masquerade of Spiders cover

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A Masquerade of Spiders

WATTYS 2018 SHORTLIST "Every person is a book, Yael. You just need to find the right way to read them." In a land where a deadly curse forces all to wear masks, Yael steals the mask and identity of a noblewoman to infiltrate the nobility and find her abducted sister, but gets sucked into a twisted game of spies. Eighteen-year-old Yael was a talented mask-maker apprentice-but not anymore. Now, she's a spy, an imposter and a murderess. In the land of Vynam, all must wear masquerade masks to ward off the curse of the spectres, ghost-like beings that kill with a single touch. After the Somaer family, the richest nobles in Vynam, abduct her sister and her parents are put to death, Yael steals the mask and identity of a noblewoman to infiltrate the nobility, find her sister and avenge her parents. Her only chance of success-and survival-is if she can outplay the shrewdest spymasters in Vynam. When her search for her sister unearths dangerous knowledge, she alone holds the power to destroy the precarious peace of the noble houses, and shake all of Vynam to its very core. But the cost might be her sister's life.