Wicked Little Blade
Dark Fantasy by S P Oldham
The Great Lady rules Spira, safe from within the Inner Sanctum of the palace. Yet even here, the world can intrude. Eleven years ago, the Great Lady’s Mirror Mind, Ellera, brought great displeasure when she bore an illegitimate child; Shaderassa.
The Great Lady rarely forgives and never forgets. Ellera is kept on at court, her skills as a Mirror Mind valuable, until the Great Lady’s tolerance fails, when she is forced to endure a dreadful punishment.
The Alchemists, in service to the palace, happen to choose the same day to demonstrate that their powers can be used for things other than violence. Fearful and nervous, they get things horribly wrong, giving scheming court elder Ivien an opportunity to seize power amid the chaos.
All at once, Spira is cast into turmoil. Everything changes for Shaderassa, forcing her to flee the only place she has ever called home. Brought low by grief and loss, armed with only a knife, a will to survive and the memory of her mother to give her strength, she runs.
Beyond Spira, the jungle beckons. What lies beyond that, very few know.
Hunted by half an army, Shaderassa is about to find out.
