Dark Dreams (56 page)
It didn’t matter.
He tore a chunk from the loaf and ate it, giving the baker his compliments before they resumed their journey.
Imoshen’s gaze met his. ‘It appears you have won, General.’
He looked into the eyes of the creature he should despise, but if truth be told he adored her. ‘Appearances can be deceptive, T’Imoshen.’
It has been six hundred years since Imoshen the First, Causare of the T’En, brought her beleaguered people across the seas to Fair Isle. The magical folk mixed with the natives, bringing culture and sophistication, and made the island one of the wealthiest, most powerful nations in the known world.
In one night, all is lost. Imoshen, namesake of the first Empress, is the last pure-blooded T'En woman, left behind when her kinfolk went to die in defence of their homeland. The savage Ghebites, barbarians from the warm north, have conquered Fair Isle, and their general, Tulkhan, claims her as his right of conquest.
Proud and fierce, trained in arts of war and possessed of extraordinary healing gifts, Imoshen must choose to submit to the barbarian soldier and save her people's heritage... or to die in a futile gesture of defiance.
“This really is a sprawling epic... it becomes addictive, and really ups the ante towards the end.”
The British Fantasy Society on
Besieged
“A tale about passion, acceptance and racism. It’s not an easy tale... Daniells is a master storyteller, and the series is a must-read for every fantasy fan.”
Fantastical Imaginations on
Sanctuary
Fair Isle has found a new ruler, and a new way of life. Tulkhan, the Ghebite General, has long severed ties with his brother the King, and is forging a new country, bringing the best of his people—their ferocity, courage and passion—and the people he has conquered—their culture, sophistication and egalitarianism—together in a nation that will change the world.
His bond-partner—never a Ghebite "wife"—Imoshen, last of the pure-blood T'En women, with her wine-dark eyes and silver hair, rules by his side. What began as a political alliance has blossomed into love, for one another and their newborn son.
But even as differences still cause trouble between the Ghebites and the people of Fair Isle, Imoshen's past tears her in half. For Reothe, once her betrothed, once so great a threat to them and now crippled by her powers, still seeks to draw her away. And the lure of the mind-touch—the magical intimacy that she and Tulkhan can never share—is one she cannot ignore...
“This really is a sprawling epic... it becomes addictive, and really ups the ante towards the end.”
The British Fantasy Society on
Besieged
“A tale about passion, acceptance and racism. It’s not an easy tale... Daniells is a master storyteller, and the series is a must-read for every fantasy fan.”
Fantastical Imaginations on
Sanctuary