On Thin Ice (Prequel to Guild)
THE WAR IS YOUNG, and the gods are hungry. Ogonsekai has been warring for twelve years, so many remember the age before. An age of submission. An age of silent resentment and knives behind backs instead of on tables. An age when the Outskirts bowed to Hikarishi. Ogonsekai has been at war for almost twelve years. Many remember the age before, but none remember a time of peace.
PEACE HAS SURRENDERED. The goddess cowers at the feet of the Serpentine throne, and kisses the boots of the shogun Amihan as she bleeds out and dies. All fear the shogun- including his emperor. Including his son and daughter: his would-be heir and his jewel.
ALL FEAR THE SHOGUN, even the High King of the north, who watches his kin prepare for war. The Uenons pity the rebels. They fear the shogun, and they fight their fear with fire. The Uenons challenge the shogun. The Uenons challenge the empire. The Uenons challenge him.
HIS DAUGHTER CHALLENGES HIM. His daughter, his only surviving child, a girl who wants to be king. His cunning brother fears her as much as he fears the shogun. Perhaps more.
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Princess Yuina Mongonai expects to be declared the heir to the Northern Icelands. An idealist with a rebel heart, Yuina intends to turn the north against its imperial conquerors and aid the Outskirts instead. But on the eve of her sixteenth birthday, Yuina learns that fate and her scheming uncle have other plans.
In order to prove himself worthy of the title shogun, Dai Kimsura must win a fight against his god-blessed, vicious sister. To secure his future and win the favour of his parents, Dai is given a mission only he can complete. A task that may be his undoing.
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