The Ancient Thread

In a land where shadows feed, trust is the deadliest weapon.

The witches of Averanth have long been hunted-burned, drowned, executed in the name of purity. None are feared more than the Shadow Witches, whose magic can twist the very darkness into a weapon. Serenya is the deadliest of them all, her power a living thing that slaughters without mercy and shields her from any who dare draw near.

Kaelen, crown prince of Dravoryn, is sworn to destroy her kind. Sent by his father to wipe out the last of the Shadow Witches, he expects to find a monster-something to kill, nothing more. What he finds instead is a woman who smiles at the slaughter, whose shadows hiss at his presence, and whose beauty is as lethal as her blade, Nyxbane.

Their paths should only cross in blood, but fate has other plans. With war closing in and an older, darker enemy rising, Kaelen must decide whether Serenya is the enemy he's meant to kill... or something entirely misunderstood.

But in Averanth, every alliance is a trap, and shadows have no loyalty-except to the witch who commands them.