Warlords of the Sandsea

THRONE OF GLASS meets CONAN THE BARBARIAN. Ensaadi Talitha of Ilios is the warlord's heir who dreams of peace. Finally, she has the chance to broker a marriage between two feuding tribes, but her efforts are shattered when her besotted cousin claims the bridegroom. The treachery forces Talitha and her warriors to flee back to Ilios. Only through an uneasy alliance with a band of mercenary Dunedrifters and their enigmatic leader can her people hope to make it home. With the lives of her warriors and the safety of her city at stake, Talitha will be forced to make the hardest decisions of her life. As an ensaadi, no matter what Talitha may want, a heart is a luxury and a conscience is a curse.

A warlord owes loyalty to no one, not even those most loyal to her. Ensaadi Talitha has always been able to trust Gilsazi, her most faithful general. But when Gilsazi is captured and held for ransom, her grandfather forbids her taking the army to rescue him. Her only choice is to seek out Ashek, the unforgettable Dunedrifter who saved her life more than a year ago. Ashek is willing to help, but demands a steep price. As it becomes clear there is more to Gilsazi's abduction than a band of simple bandits, the threads of Talitha's obligations and duties become ever more tangled. Only the cruel can survive in the brutal world of the Sandsea. And a heart is the one luxury an ensaadi can't afford.

When everything is taken, only survival remains. Betrayed by those closest to her, Talitha has been stripped of her title, cast from her country, and sold as an anonymous slave into the gladiatorial arena of a foreign land. But betrayal may have come from much closer than she realized. When the traitor who murdered her family and stole her birthright appears to watch the games beside the only man she's ever loved, Talitha is sure they must have worked together. The former ensaadi sets her heart on repaying their treachery, even if it costs her life. But her heart might be the most treacherous one of all.

How much is a warlord's inheritance worth? Talitha is the rightful ensaak of Ilios, but betrayal has left her a fugitive far from her grandfather's city. With the usurper supported by the crazed priest of the war goddess, Talitha needs an army to free her people, no matter the cost. Her only hope is the diaspora of a tribe her own people nearly destroyed. With the traitor's armies bearing down, she must forge an alliance or face death. Ashek is again where he belongs by her side, but the usurper will stop at nothing to see them stopped as they near the final battle for Ilios.

Can the goddess of war be defeated? Talitha expected a fight to take back Ilios, but she returns to her city to find her enemies have gone underground. Worse, the deposed usurper has invoked powers beyond the realms of flesh and blood. The priests of the war goddess have unleashed something terrible, something wicked. Talitha and Ashek must find a way to destroy it before the monstrosity consumes their reclaimed city and everything they've fought for.

Could you forgive your greatest betrayal? Anakti the war goddess has been cast out and Zula commands Ilios' armies, second only to General Gilsazi. A fragile peace has been forged, strained by the newly arrived Hudspethites and newly imposed religious order of the Lonely God. When the neighboring city of Mekba falls under attack, their defeat could end the new regime before it's begun. If she is to protect the life she's built and her adopted city of Ilios, Zula must confront not only her past, but the two men who destroyed her family-and broke her heart. Forgiveness is the cost for the future, but the siren song of revenge calls even as old loves begin to resurface.

How do you fight for someone who won't fight for himself? The man she loves is cursed to die while Zula is imprisoned-beside the man she's sworn to marry. Zula is left powerless to intervene and Hekdan refuses to do what must be done to save his own life. Her only advantage is that Tadrakka is equally determined as her to save his brother despite their rivalry for her affection. But even if they can somehow escape their chains, they must overcome armies and the very will of a god to save Hekdan. Time is running out. And every moment that passes is one moment closer to the curse's fulfillment.

Life is fragile. Love is fleeting. Only honor remains. Ensaadi Hekdan of Malsi is dead, leaving behind a mourning city, a leaderless army, and a widow Zula has sworn to protect. With thousands of enemy soldiers camped outside their walls, not even Zula's soldiers and Tadrakka's skills as a magian will be enough to save them if the city can't unite. As Malsi is attacked by monsters beyond their worst nightmares, Zula and Tadrakka soon realize that there is more at play in this war than mere greed, jealousy, or lust. A dark sorcery unlike anything either of them has known is stirring strong enough to destroy an empire and time is running out. Mercy Vow is a 30,000-word novella in the Warlords of the Sandsea romance adventure series.