A standalone epic fantasy novella starring Sal the Cacophony, who Pierce Brown called a "protagonist for the ages," from Sam Sykes' widely acclaimed Seven Blades in Black . To the city of Last Word, one of the last freeholds in a land rent asunder by magic, Sal the Cacophony comes with gun, a blade, and a burning need for revenge. But when the gallows threatens to deny her the satisfaction of the kill, Sal the Cacophony decides to free her query—it's the principle of the thing. And in doing so, she sparks a war that will shake the city's fragile peace to its core. To escape with her life and her kill, she'll have to save a a Freemaker, versed in the forbidden arts of magic and machinery. But the weight of their secrets may be too heavy to let them escape in one piece. For more from Sam Sykes, check The Grave of Empires Seven Blades in Black The Affinity for Steel Trilogy Tome of the Undergates Black Halo The Skybound Sea Bring Down Heaven The City Stained Red The Mortal Tally God's Last Breath

Sam Sykes returns with a new fantasy that introduces to an unforgettable outcast magician caught between two warring empires. Among humans, none have power like mages. And among mages, none have will like Sal the Cacophony. Once revered, now vagrant, she walks a wasteland scarred by generations of magical warfare. The Scar, a land torn between powerful empires, is where rogue mages go to disappear, disgraced soldiers go to die and Sal went with a blade, a gun and a list of names she intended to use both on. But vengeance is a flame swift extinguished. Betrayed by those she trusted most, her magic torn from her and awaiting execution, Sal the Cacophony has one last tale to tell before they take her head. All she has left is her name, her story and the weapon she used to carved both. Vengeance is its own reward.

The second novel in an epic fantasy trilogy that follows an unforgettable outcast mage caught between two warring empires. Sal the Cacophony-outlaw, outcast, outnumbered-destroys all that she loves. Her lover lost and cities burned in her wake, all she has left is her magical gun and her all-consuming quest for revenge against those who stole her power and took the sky from her. When the roguish agent of a mysterious patron offers her the chance to participate in a heist to steal an incredible power from the famed airship fleet, the Ten Arrows, she finds a new purpose. But a plot to save the world by bringing down empires swiftly escalates into a conspiracy of magic and vengeance that threatens to burn everything to ash, including herself. For more from Sam Sykes, check out: The Grave of Empires: Seven Blades in Black Ten Arrows of Iron Bring Down Heaven: The City Stained Red The Mortal Tally God's Last Breath The Affinity for Steel Trilogy: Tome of the Undergates Black Halo The Skybound Sea

A deal struck in a dark place set an outlaw mage on the path to revenge. And now that it’s led to places even darker, she and everyone she knows may pay the price for her bargain in the final novel of “an unforgettable epic fantasy” trilogy ( Publisher’s Weekly ). Sal the Cacophony has made few friends, but many enemies. Many, many enemies. When her magic was taken from her, she cried out for revenge. And a power she never understood promised her vengeance. A deal for a bloody price was made. And now the bill has come due. In one of the last free cities of the burned-out ruin of the Scar, Sal’s many foes—old and new—have hunted down her and her few allies—willing and otherwise—and all her plans to save them might not be enough. One last stand. One more story. One final blade to be drawn. For more from Sam Sykes, check The Grave of Seven Blades in Black Ten Arrows of Iron Three Axes to Fall Bring Down The City Stained Red The Mortal Tally God's Last Breath The Affinity for Steel Tome of the Undergates Black Halo The Skybound Sea