Mhachkay
In the blood-soaked Crimean War, Mary Seacole-a Jamaican-Scottish healer rejected by Florence Nightingale's nursing corps for her race-discovers she is a Mhachkay, an ancient supernatural guardian chosen to protect the vulnerable from systematic violence. As a mixed-race woman scorned by the British medical establishment, Mary transforms from practical entrepreneur to predatory protector with the ability to shapeshift into a magnificent owl-human hybrid. Her awakening comes as she confronts the Iron Hand, a sinister organization using chemical weapons to "clear" Tatar villages for industrial exploitation. THE OWL'S SHADOW is groundbreaking historical fantasy that deconstructs Victorian power structures through a woman who literally refuses colonial boundaries. As Mary develops her supernatural abilities-enhanced senses, a second heart, transformation powers-she becomes a weapon against imperial violence.
Rejected by the medical hierarchy, Mary establishes the British Hotel-a revolutionary medical hub that becomes a centre of resistance. Her supernatural transformation mirrors her political awakening as she moves from working within colonial systems to actively dismantling them.
Surrounded by a diverse found family-Cyrus (former slave turned scholar), Thomas (medical assistant with secrets), Lucy (traumatized but brilliant accountant), and Eli (woman disguised as man to practice medicine)-Mary completes her transformation through an ancient Tatar ceremony connecting her to a legacy of protection transcending colonial boundaries.