Book excerpt: Practicing the ancient art of Akiun is punishable by death. When the warrior Jenna and her brother Hahn come to the city of Frethenia to flee from the price on their heads and start a new life, all goes well. But soon they discover a plot by the church to cover up damning knowledge, a Brotherhood of Evil that operates under the same church, and a growing connection to the Prophecy of the New Queen of Trefolk. Cast into a deadly maelstrom of assassination and intrigue, Jenna must risk revealing her true identity to save her city, her people, and her brother.