In a castle that d’Albret stole from Brittany’s steadfast 13-year-old duchess, Sybella waits to see a marque on d’Albret’s body so she can kill him with Mortain’s grace. Now Sybella’s a trained assassin, serving Mortain, the god of Death. Unknown to Ismae, Sybella is d’Albret’s daughter, raised in a household in which her kindest brother demanded sex from her and their father murdered wife after wife. Readers last glimpsed Sybella through Ismae’s eyes ( Grave Mercy, 2012), serving in the entourage of d’Albret, a bloodthirsty Breton noble. But how will they stand the wait?Īn assassin with a will of steel fights her way through deadly palace deceptions, sickening sexual servitude and baffling assignments from her convent, becoming a major player in Brittany’s 15th-century resistance of French occupation. With one more daughter of Death seeking her fate, readers can expect a sequel. It’s a place where history mingles with mystery and love is never expected. LaFevers is that wonderful sort of storyteller who so completely meshes events, descriptions, and characters that readers get lost in the world she’s concocted. However, in this book, the wounds are deeper as Sybella must come to terms with her past and how her secrets tie and untie her to a knight who is the bane of her existence and her hope for the future. The story’s parameters are the same as in the previous book (the struggle between various forces to decide Brittany’s fate, the relationship between the young women trained in the deathly arts and the saint that directs them) and once again the tale is filled with vicious battles, heart stopping escapes, and intricately devised scenarios. Mortrain, that troops protecting Brittany’s young Duchess are riding into a trap to be sprung by Sybella’s despotic father.

Backtracking just a bit, the story starts with the climactic event of the previous book: Sybella warns Ismae, her dear friend and fellow killer from the convent of St. The riveting historical adventure that began with Grave Mercy (2012) here follows the story of another of Death’s handmaidens, Sybella. Spring 2013 Kids’ Indie Next List What Others Are Saying: INDIE BOUND B&N BOOKS A MILLION POWELL’S AMAZON To read the first chapter, click HERE: When she discovers an unexpected ally imprisoned in the dungeons, will a daughter of Death find something other than vengeance to live for? And while Sybella is a weapon of justice wrought by the god of Death himself, He must give her a reason to live. But those assassin’s skills are little comfort when the convent returns her to a life that nearly drove her mad. The convent views Sybella, naturally skilled in the arts of both death and seduction, as one of their most dangerous weapons. Those that serve Death are only too happy to offer her refuge-but at a price. Sybella arrives at the convent’s doorstep half mad with grief and despair.

Grave mercy book 2