The Gilded Crown: A Raven's Trade Novel [Paperback]

The Witch’s Heart meets The Foxglove King in this spellbinding dark fantasy debut about a young woman with the extraordinary power of necromancy,andthe ill-fated princess whose life she is determined to save, no matter the cost.

The first time Hellevir visited Death, she was ten years old…

Since she was a little girl, Hellevir has been able to raise the dead. Every creature can be saved for a price, a price demanded by the shrouded figure who rules the afterlife, who takes a little more from Hellevir with each soul she resurrects.

Such a gift can rarely remain a secret. When Princess Sullivain, sole heir to the kingdom’s throne, is assassinated, the Queen summons Hellevir to demand she bring her granddaughter back to life. But once is not enough; the killers might strike again. The Princess’s death would cause a civil war, so the Queen commands that Hellevir remain by her side.

But Sullivain is no easy woman to be bound to, even as Hellevir begins to fall in love with her. With the threat of war looming, Hellevir must trade more and more of herself to keep the Princess alive.

But Death will always take what he is owed.

The Gilded Crownhas the feel of an ancient fairy tale freshly told. A rich and beautiful story of two women torn between impossible loyalties, this novel lures you effortlessly into a dark river of costly magic and difficult questions, and then refuses to deliver any easy answers. I can't wait to follow Hellevir and Sullivain wherever Death decides to lead them next.   -Freya Marske, award-winning author of A Marvellous Light

A beautiful fantasy full of quests, court intrigue, and star-crossed lovers. -Library Journal

“Fantastic series opener . . . A richly imagined beginning that shouldn’t be missed.” -Klú