Beyond the Empire's Shadow

Yana Sokol knows nothing but war.

Her mother is head of Riassa's Second Army, a brilliant general who has won many victories for her country. Yana has spent her entire nineteen years of life determined to be witch or warrior enough to make her mother proud. When she is assigned to a mission that could disrupt the fragile pause in the war between two monolithic empires, she finally has her chance, and she'll let nothing stand in the way of it. Especially not Kombat Luka Remizov, the disdainful captain she's assigned to, a young master of both magic and the blade.

With winter closing it's teeth on their heels, Yana, Luka, and a handful of other soldiers head into the mountains that march along the border shared by Riassa and their bloodthirsty neighbors, the Hyns. There's a princess to rescue, raiding parties to avoid, and a delicate armistice to maintain before the snows close in... and time is running out.