Cirrus@Austlit

'In the blackest dungeon of the Clockwork City, a prisoner lies bound in silver shackles. Who is she? And why are the wizards so afraid of her?

'Seventeen-year-old Gwyn has no family and no past. Apprenticed to a half-mad herbalist, she travels the snow-blasted High Country, hawking potions in a peddler’s wagon. Her guardian hides her from the world like a dark secret, and she knows better than to push for answers.

'But when she discovers she is hunted by the goddess Beheret, Gwyn is drawn into a deep and ancient tale: of chained gods and lost magic, of truths long buried and the rising of a war she never could have imagined.

'Wizards and their magic-sniffing hounds pursue her – as does a stranger in a smiling mask, who calls her by an unfamiliar name…

'But what really terrify her are the dangerous gifts she’s spent her life suppressing. Now, Gwyn must step out of the shadows and take charge of her destiny – even if the price is her own soul.

'The Ninth Sorceress is the breathtaking first instalment of The Price of Magic, a sweeping fantasy saga full of rich storytelling and tangible magic.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'The sorceress has broken free of her shackles.

'Months of imprisonment have forged Gwyn into something new; something dangerous. Eight dead sorceresses whisper in her ear, hungry for blood and vengeance – and after unleashing the red magic to make her escape, she fears she won’t be able to stop.

'All Gwyn really wants is to go home. But as she soon discovers, escaping the Clockwork City may prove an impossible task. The wizards of the Syndicate wage a silent, bloody war over her fate, and to survive, she must play their deadly game.

'As strange storms ravage the city and wizards start turning up dead, Gwyn finds herself in more danger than ever. With enemies on every side, the immortal Scions massing their armies, and the dark power inside her growing stronger, she must make a choice... To save everything she loves, is she willing to become the monster the Syndicate fears?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'The Scions roam free, and only the sorceress can hunt them…

'After the battle with storm god Molech Suun, a city is in ruins and a new Archmage holds the Syndicate’s leash. But while Gwyn has accepted her fate – to hunt down and destroy the remaining Scions – her loyalty is still to her old master Faolan, held captive by a cunning necromancer.

'Saving Faolan means leaving the wizards and the Clockwork City behind. With the shapeshifter Lucian at her side, Gwyn embarks on a dangerous journey across the sea, to lands where pirate kings rule and wild magic sings.

'But sorceresses are heir to a dark legacy of blood – and Gwyn soon finds that she’s the one being hunted.

'The Scions want her dead, and a new enemy sends threats and warnings that can’t be ignored. As Gwyn struggles to balance her desires and her destiny, she finds herself unprepared for what awaits her beyond the city walls. And far to the south, amid the ashes of a fallen kingdom, a familiar foe is setting deadly plans in motion…'

Source: Publisher's blurb.