My home, Nacea, had been small, wedged between Erlend and Alona and ruled from afar by Erlend lords. A territory allowed to keep its queen and god in exchange for tribute. Then Erlend and Alona went to war and called their mages to the front lines. Nacea didn’t deal in magic. The Lady, our godly Lady of Nacea, was not to be stolen from. She wasn’t human or flesh but magic in every form. Mages used her up, forced her into the old handwritten language of runes, and devoured her power. She devoured them right back—runes rotted their flesh and minds, leaving nothing but mindless souls. Shadows of the people they’d once been. The Erlend mages didn’t know, of course. They’d never pushed so far, tried so hard f