When her betrothed leads her down the dark path of forbidden magic, Alswyn must decide where her loyalties lie. Will she serve the goddess of destruction, or save her people from a fate worse than death? Uncover the mysteries of Alswyn’s clouded past in this companion prequel to the Soul in Ashes series!

Is peace worth the cost of a young woman's soul? Fans of The Black Mage and Soulfinders will here discover a new adventure full of forbidden magic, manipulating gods, and tainted romance. For over a year, eighteen-year-old Alswyn hid the true cause of her exile to the land of her enemies. Training as a healer in a cloistered sanctuary, she created a new life for herself. But when King Ghalad's intended bride falls prey to a mysterious illness, Alswyn soon recognizes the hand of an ash sorcerer meddling in the politics of fragile peace treaty negotiations. Now Alswyn must face the man who ordered her exile and use her knowledge of forbidden magic to catch the ash sorcerer before he plunges the countryside back into a bitter war. Unfortunately, digging up the bones of Alswyn's past may well prove fatal to her soul.

"Shauna E. Black’s new serialized fantasy ... has something in it I haven’t felt since Garth Nix’s Old Kingdom series. It has a voice that is both moving and haunting, capturing the soul and filling it with magic. I want more … much, much more." —Mikey Brooks, Award-winning author of The Dream Keeper Chronicles and The Stone of Valhalla Episode 2 When King Ghalad goes missing, Talorc threatens to take over Eagle Canyon. Alswyn must use forbidden magic to rescue Ghalad from the Plains of Dera. But the rescue mission gets complicated when she runs afoul of her former lover, Cynet, and the goddess Dera. They’ll both do anything to ensnare Alswyn once more in ash magic. Soul in Ashes Serialized Novel In this series of fantasy novellas, Alswyn is a young adult in exile studying the healing arts in a foreign land when she discovers ash magic that could destroy a delicate peace treaty and plunge the countryside back into war. Now she must reveal the truth of her sordid past, risking her new life as she uses forbidden knowledge to counter the ash magic and catch the sorcerer before her adopted homeland is destroyed.

The tragic consequences of ash magic. A mysterious illness threatens the lives of Alswyn's friends and associates in the cloistered sanctuary that has been her home for nearly a year. When one of the victims dies, the abbot places the sanctuary under quarantine. But there is no stopping the disease, especially when victims begin to morph into vaylah, bird-like servants of the evil goddess Dera. Those left alive blame Alswyn for the sanctuary's ruin, and she must overcome her religious aversions in order to enter the holiest shrine, where answers await. Will her submission to the gods prove enough to save those she loves? Scroll up NOW to purchase your copy!

A fate worse than death leads to an impossible quest. In order to escape judgement for working ash magic, Alswyn is forced to take on the form of King Ghalad's intended bride, a disguise that leaves her heart tangled inextricably with his. Together, they embark on a quest to find the Lost God, a deity forgotten by all but the oldest legends, and the only power that can restore Alswyn's friends. But will her web of lies and deceit prove to be the downfall of the quest? Scroll up NOW to get your copy!