Cirrus@Austlit

'A dead witch. A bitter curse. A battle of magic.

'Some people knit socks by the fire at night. Gyssha Blackbone made monsters.

'But the old witch is dead now, and somehow it's Elodie's job to clean up the mess.

'When she was hired at Black Oak Cottage, Elodie had no idea she'd find herself working for a witch; and her acid-tongued new mistress, Aleida, was not expecting a housemaid to turn up on her doorstep.

'Gyssha's final curse left Aleida practically dead on her feet, and now, with huge monsters roaming the woods, a demonic tree lurking in the orchard and an angry warlock demanding repayment of a debt, Aleida needs Elodie's help, whether she likes it or not.

'And no matter what the old witch throws at her, to Elodie it's still better than going back home.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Sierra has a despised and forbidden gift -- she raises power from the suffering of others. Enslaved by the king′s torturer, Sierra escapes, barely keeping ahead of Rasten, the man sent to hunt her down. Then she falls in with dangerous company: the fugitive Prince Cammarian and his crippled foster-brother, Isidro.

'But Rasten is not the only enemy hunting them in the frozen north and as Sierra′s new allies struggle to identify friend from foe, Rasten approaches her with a plan to kill the master they both abhor. Sierra is forced to decide what price she is willing to pay for her freedom and her life ...'