SMOKE & STEEL
At the Crossroads of Tomorrow
Will Saritrah reclaim her crown or will her kingdom be lost to insurrectionists?
Scions and Shadows #2
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Being one of the youngest of the Sua royals never stopped Saritrah from scheming to take the throne. But violent insurrectionists shattered those plans when they stormed the palace and decimated her family.
In the years since, she has amassed an army and will return to claim her crown. However, Ashur, her one remaining sibling, has done the same, and she must act soon if she's to secure her prize before he snatches it from her claws.
After Ashur razes the Temple of Yshuld, the surviving Seers promise her the power to ensure victory. But it will mean abandoning her legion to venture into the endless desert and locate a lost city.
Soon, however, she suspects that none of the women are who they claim to be, even to each other. One woman cryptically alludes to a paradisical past; another awakens in the night plagued by dreams of a frightening future; the last woman never speaks. But the more she questions her new companions' motives, the more she must question her own.
Awards: Nominated in the 2024 Indie Ink Awards in multiple categories!
Original Publication Date: May 30, 2024
Reviews
Smoke and Steel has reminded me of why I love [Dax Murray’s] writing. Smoke and Steel blends political drama with a truly wonderful villain redemption story, with a villain that I was pretty sure was beyond saving for most of the book. Highly recommend this one!
[T]he ending... glorious. The ending had me in tears and I was so glad I kept reading because it was so worth it. The writing is lovely, the grammar is tight, the characters are intense. But the ending...that's where the magic lies
Content Warnings:
This is a work of fiction; the behaviors, actions, and views of characters should not be conflated or confused with the author's opinions and beliefs. The presence of these darker themes in this work is not an endorsement of them. This list is as complete as the author can make it. Consensual intercourse, Violence, Murder, Execution, Revolution, Domestic violence, Arson, Assault, Torture, Blood, Religious abuse, Consumption of alcohol, Suicidal Ideation.
