Winged

Winged is a 76,000-word dual-POV young adult fantasy that will appeal to fans of the Slavic fairy tale ambience of SPINNING SILVER by Naomi Novik and the mythological atmosphere of SKY IN THE DEEP by Adrienne Young.

Eighteen-year-old Nenad's isolated mountain village has always relied on the butterfly-winged creatures known as the Krilati for protection against the bloodthirsty barbarians who pillage the land. Nenad, the son of the village chief, has begun to suffer from convulsive fits that he is desperate to keep hidden, lest he lose his status in the village.

Seventeen-year-old Iskra, whose mother the village cast out as a witch, has always admired the Krilati. Though the other close-minded villagers fear the mysterious creatures, Iskra longs to fly away with them and leave her oppressive village behind.

When barbarians attack their village, most of the survivors are captured, bound for a lifetime of slavery-but Nenad and Iskra escape and find their way to a Krilati city. In this foreign society, Iskra and Nenad desperately search for Krilati they can trust-a search complicated by their discovery that some of the Krilati have started working with the raiders. Now, before the corrupt Krilati catch them, they must find proof of the corruption that led to the destruction of their village-or risk never seeing their loved ones again.