From the World of Spellmonger… Blessed Darkness Conceal Her! Born into a mysterious family, Gatina always knew there was something special about those around her. But when the Duke and Duchess of Alshar—close friends of her family—are brutally assassinated, her idyllic countryside life is upended by secrets emerging from the shadows. The family she knew proved to be more than mere Alshari Coastlords and occasional magi, as she once believed. For centuries, her ancient and distinguished House has been secretly both Shadowmagi and highly skilled thieves. With a devious Count seeking to capitalize on the assassination, the future stability and peace of Alshar hinges on Gatina learning both arts. Slavery and piracy loom malevolently in the distance as the Count allies himself with a merciless criminal organization to seize power. Gatina’s House has vowed to stand against the rising tide of wickedness—no matter how hopeless the task may seem. Working in secret beneath the tutelage of an enigmatic and mysterious master, Gatina finds herself disguised as a street orphan. She runs the filthy gutters of Falas as she puts her training into practice amid the dismal reality of its most destitute neighborhoods. Brutal thugs, violent riots, cunning soldiers, and the constant threat of discovery by the Count and his allies, all put Gatina’s life at risk as she struggles in secret against the rising tyrant. For as the blessed Darkness conceals her movements by night, she and the Brotherhood engage in a clandestine struggle, something much more deadly than mere… SHADOWPLAY!

A young heroine learns that, when you hide in the shadows, something darker may be waiting there for you . . . as the fantasy adventure saga continues. Having discovered her true heritage, young Gatina is embracing her evolving role as an apprentice shadowthief. It turns out procuring things that don’t actually belong to you can be rather exciting. But the first thing a good thief must learn is how to not get caught. If the evil usurper Count Vichetral snares Gatina or her beloved family, a truly unpleasant fate awaits. So her defiant father has deposited Gatina and her brother in the last place Vichetral’s men would think to look for them: stately Palomar Abbey. Under the alias of Maid Avorrita of Dentran—a purposely dull, bucktoothed maiden studying to be a novitiate—Gatina quickly comes to enjoy her new life among the elite. And then the trouble truly begins . . . When Gatina’s father takes her along with him to Inmar to meet a fence who can handle their stolen goods, they discover a new threat to their Shadow Council: the checkered-cloaked Royal Censorate of Magic, dedicated to the ruthless enforcement of centuries-old laws pertaining to the use of magic. Later, Gatina’s dormant rajira unexpectedly emerges at the abbey, and she’s secretly tutored in shadowmagic by the mysterious Lady Silva. What Gatina doesn’t realize is that very soon she’ll need every trick in her secret book. For a sinister new threat has arisen, one that will doom any who oppose its growing power. While Minalan the Spellmonger toils in distant lands to save humanity, Gatina must prove her skills in steel, sorcery, and the stars in order to save herself, her family, even freedom itself, by pulling off the ultimate SHADOWHEIST!