Stars and Soil (Scions and Shadows)

“Don’t trust anyone, Lady Caitlin. Not even me. Especially not me. You can have allies here, but this court does not allow you the luxury of friends.”

The land is dying, commoners are protesting, and workers are revolting. The king is ailing, but the prince is not stepping in to quell the unrest.

But Caitlin does not care—she hasn't cared about anything since that day—the day her world shattered and she lost everything. Then she befriends a rebellion leader and catches the eye of the spoiled prince. These chance encounters could make her the most powerful woman in the realm—the power to rule it as queen, or the power to tear it all down from the inside as a revolutionary spy. Either way, she has to keep the prince's interest and ignore the fluttering of her heart whenever she sees a certain court lady.

But there is much more going on at court than the rebels know about. Darker forces lurk behind the throne, and if Caitlin is to survive with her head still on her shoulders, she will need to learn the ever-changing rules of power.

Caught in a web of deception and conspiracies—militant revolutionaries, cryptic priestesses, and a secretive lady-in-waiting with a ruthless family—Caitlin must unravel the truth of a long-hidden magical prophecy, or she will become yet another pawn of an enemy far more dangerous than a tyrannical king. An enemy that has been plotting in the shadows for centuries.

And it has its sights set on making Caitlin into its weapon.

Stars and Soil is the first novel in the Scions and Shadows series and is perfect for lovers of fantasy full of court gossip, political intrigue, shifting alliances, deep worldbuilding, and sapphic and disability representation. Fans of David Hair's Moontide Quartet and Tessa Gratton's Queens of Innis Lear will feel right at home in the magical, queer-normative world Ahnlisen and all of its betrayal and backstabbing.