HALF THE WORLD. NOW THE REST IS WITHIN THEIR GRASP.... Legendary for their bloodlust, sorcery, and fierce, dark beauty, the Fey have swept across three continents and never faced defeat. But now, in defiance of their Black King, the warrior-prince Rugar and his fearless daughter, Jewel, have marshaled an invasion force to meet its ultimate challenge: Blue Isle, glistening beyond impregnable rocks and raging waters. A people of simplicity and faith, untainted by intrigue, enchantment, or war, the Blue Islanders have never before been invaded. But their young prince, Nicholas, dreams of battle and will rally his countrymen against the onslaught of the Fey, even as the Islanders discover a deadly, undreamed-of power of their own. So begins a conflict that must ultimately destroy one race or the other—or both. A UNION MADE IN THE NAME OF PEACE WILL SHATTER IN BETRAYAL AND DEATH...AND BLUE ISLE MAY ONCE AGAIN ERUPT IN WAR In the years following the invasion of the Fey, Blue Isle has maintained an uneasy peace. But the marriage between the Islander prince, Nicholas, and the Fey king's granddaughter, Jewel, has not brought their peoples together in true unity, as they had hoped. And worse, the firstborn son that Nicholas and Jewel had hoped would bring the Fey and the Islanders alike to accept their union has proven to be an empty husk of a child, seen by both races as an ill omen. But Jewel's Vision has not shown her the truth: that Sebastian is not her child but a changeling, and that her true son was spirited away by her own father to the enchanted fortress of gray mist called the Shadowlands. There Rugar hopes to • use the boy's magic to consolidate his power among the Fey and finish the conquest he began. His theft of his grandson is only the first betrayal that will weaken the fragile alliance between races; soon an assassination will touch off an explosive chain of events that will threaten the survival of both peoples. Continuing the brilliant epic begun in The Sacrifice, The Changeling weaves a compelling story peopled with vibrant characters into a glorious tapestry of enchantment and betrayal. WITHOUT MERCY Twenty years after their first attempt, a new Fey invasion threatens Blue Isle, headed by the ruthless Black King Rugad. The island is more than a stepping-stone to conquest of the great-grandchildren, weis nare pethe future hope of the Fey. But Arianna and Sebastian are as much Islander as Fey, and will stand with their father, Nicholas, Blue Isle's king. As he prepares for a devastating new kind of war, Nicholas learns a stunning truth: Sebastian is not his son. The true prince was spirited away in infancy by the Fey, raised in the enchanted Shadowlands. Now, as the prince comes of age and Blue Isle stands on the brink of war, the future of two races hangs in the balance. FOR A CONQUERED PEOPLE, A LONG-FORGOTTEN MAGIC HOLDS THEIR ONLY HOPE Blue Isle's capital lies in ruins, leveled by the new invasion force of Fey. But to hold his conquest, Black King Rugad must capture his two half-islander, half-Fey great-grandchildren: the fiery Arianna and the gentle Gift. For one of them will inherit the Black Throne, and Rugad will not rest until he owns them both, body and soul. Yet, in the wily and courageous Arianna, this legendary warrior may have met his match. Fugitives in a wasted land, she and her father, Blue Isle's King Nicholas, plan the destruction of her ruthless great-grandfather. Drawn to a forgotten sacred place in the shimmering Cliffs of Blood, they will find Arianna's long-lost brother, Gift. But an old enmity stands between Arianna and the reluctant warrior Gift, and an hey darkens their future-and that of the world Hidden in the Cliffs of Blood lies a cavern that pulses with long-lost power. Here King Nicholas and his children, Gift and Arianna, have taken refuge from Black King Rugad and his Fey invasion. Rugad's goal is to capture his great-grandchildren-in whom mingled Fey and Islander bloodlines spark unimagined powers, marking them his heirs to the Black Throne. As Nicholas and his family desperately seek to understand the cavern's mysteries, they must forge unforeseen alliances: with Nicholas's greatest ally, who appears to them from beyond the grave-and with Nicholas's greatest enemy, who holds the key to the Fey's defeat. But the supernatural weapons they uncover are double-edged swords. For the same magic that can kill the invaders may destroy Gift and Arianna...and shatter the kingdom. The magnificent epic of the Fey reaches its stunning conclusion in a tale of disaster and triumphs, brutality and enchantment. New York Times bestselling author Kristine Kathryn Rusch writes in almost every genre. Generally, she uses her real name (Rusch) for most of her writing. Under that name, she publishes bestselling science fiction and fantasy, award-winning mysteries, acclaimed mainstream fiction, controversial nonfiction, and the occasional romance. Her novels have made bestseller lists around the world and her short fiction has appeared in eighteen best of the year collections. She has won more than twenty-five awards for her fiction, including the Hugo, Le Prix Imaginales, the Asimov’s Readers Choice award, and the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Readers Choice Award. Publications from The Chicago Tribune to Booklist have included her Kris Nelscott mystery novels in their top-ten-best mystery novels of the year. The Nelscott books have received nominations for almost every award in the mystery field, including the best novel Edgar Award, and the Shamus Award. She writes goofy romance novels as award-winner Kristine Grayson. She also edits. Beginning with work at the innovative publishing company, Pulphouse, followed by her award-winning tenure at The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, she took fifteen years off before returning to editing with the original anthology series Fiction River, published by WMG Publishing. She acts as series editor with her husband, writer Dean Wesley Smith. To keep up with everything she does, go to kriswrites.com and sign up for her newsletter. To track her many pen names and series, see their individual websites (krisnelscott.com, kristinegrayson.com, retrievalartist.com, divingintothewreck.com, fictionriver.com, pulphousemagazine.com).

ISBN: 9780553568943