Ivy T. Woods

Only a hundred years in, and existence is already tedious. As the first mage born in two centuries, Tilaani was thrust into the role of The Guide for her people. To spend her insufferably long life alone in the mountains, guiding the spirits of the dead to their eternal rest. But with hardly any mages born, Tilaani fears she may be the last of her kind—forever lost somewhere between the living and the dead.

Kadir greatly prefers maps to people. For the last fifty years, he’s been working on a map of the continent and he’s nearly done—except for one flyspeck village in the far south. When Kadir’s curiosity leads him to almost (accidentally) kill Tilaani (the local mage), everything goes to hell. Less than a guest and more of a hostage, Kadir is tasked to join Tilaani in solving the dwindling mage population in the village in exchange for his freedom. But she doesn’t want him around, and she certainly doesn’t want his help.

Unfortunately for Kadir, Tilaani isn’t the only one who is not thrilled by his presence, making it that much harder for Kadir to help Tilaani and, more importantly, earn his freedom. When a few locals decide to demonstrate their displeasure with Kadir, things end badly, forcing the slowly brewing tensions to spill over into a bloody coup. With no other choice, Tilaani and Kadir must fight to save the living, the dead, and each other. Though not necessarily in that order.

Throughout the Sea of Sorrows, monsters are hunting. Entire villages emptied, families stolen from their beds, ghost ships left drifting.

Minna is a Sculptor of the Winds and Waves, her job to speed the travel of her ship—and defend them against the monsters prowling the Sea. When she is offered a place on one of the largest ships in the Fleet, it comes with a catch: her betrothal to the Deckmistress’ son. She takes the deal and is surprised to find that her betrothed is not only tolerable, but pleasant.

During an attack on the ship, they capture one of the monsters and Minna is forced into the role of jailer as the crew attempts to find the monsters’ lair, hoping to wipe them out once and for all. But after her prisoner proves herself to be surprisingly human, Minna becomes intent on saving her from execution, putting herself at odds with her Deckmistress, her betrothed, and the entire crew. But the other monsters are drawn to their own. And they are coming.