Requiem for Souls (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780645972276)

Death Cloaks the Battlefield

In a land subdued by steel and blood, Sabine is an invisible cog in the empress' military machine. When her father, General Di'Bonni was betrayed by his kelpie thrall and fled, Sabine was left behind. Condemned to fight on the empress' battlefield until she falls in battle, she knows she is facing certain death. The empress' victory is almost assured, but Sabine refuses to relinquish hope, and plans to escape beyond the mountains where her father waits with his armies.

However, her desires for revenge, friendship and freedom collide, when her childhood friend, arrives on the battlefield and is soon arrested for interfering with her mother's judgment. Desperate to save her friend, Sabine uses her mysterious flute to summon non-human assassins. But to survive, she'll have to trust Valen Briar, the kelpie who betrayed her family.

The promise of freedom was Valen's price when he betrayed his master, General Di'Bonni. Instead, the general escaped justice, and Valen was bound to the royal princes as a bodyguard.

When they arrive on the front lines, he stumbles on an assassination plot, the perfect distraction to free himself and the only tolerable human: Princess Atarah. The only problem: Sabine Di'Bonni, the general's spoilt, arrogant daughter, is at the center of the plan. When the assassins are betrayed, and camp descends into chaos, he is left with a dreadful choice: leave the human world or stay and help Atarah take the crown.

Valen would rather be shod with burning horseshoes.