City of Masks: (An Epic Fantasy Novel)

Waking in Anaskar Prison, covered in blood and accused of murder, nobody will listen to Notch's claims of innocence until he meets the future Protector of the Monarchy, Sofia Falco.

But Sofia has her own burdens. The first female Protector in a hundred years, her House is under threat from enemies within, the prince has made it clear he does not want her services and worst of all, she cannot communicate with her father's sentient mask of bone, the centuries-old Argeon. Without the bone mask she cannot help anyone -- not herself, and certainly not a mercenary with no powerful House to protect him.

Meanwhile, far across the western desert, Ain, a young Pathfinder, is thrust into the role of Seeker. Before winter storms close the way, he must leave his home on a quest to locate the Sea Shrine and take revenge on the people who drove his ancestors from Anaskar, the city ruled by the prince Sofia and Notch are sworn to protect, whether he wants their help or not.

A bitter mercenary. A naïve mask-carver. A city in peril.

Sofia is a failure. The sentient magical mask with the power to compel, the Greatmask, refuses to choose her as its successor. Without it, the mask-carver will never succeed her father or have the power to protect her city. When palace conspiracies place a tyrant on the throne and lead to her father's disappearance, her only choice is to hide.

Notch wants revenge. After escaping imprisonment for a crime he didn't commit, the grizzled old mercenary is more determined than ever to kill the king of Anaskar. It might have been impossible, until he stumbles across Sofia with her Greatmask and decides to protect her-his best shot at vengeance.

Taking Anaskar back from the tyrant is no simple task. With an uncooperative Greatmask and royal assassins hunting them down, staying alive is half the battle. Can they survive long enough to save their city, or will Sofia's shortcomings and Notch's need for retribution doom them all?

City of Masks is the first thrilling fantasy novel in the Bone Mask Cycle. If you love underdogs, perilous quests, and epic adventures, slip into City of Masks!