Book excerpt: Valya is a hero. Her people need a healer. If you loved the Kushiel series or The Priory of the Orange Tree, you’ll want to try this sweeping epic starring a bisexual warrior princess with a taste for dominance! Valya has chased the slave traders stealing her people’s children all the way to the very edge of Zem’. She is preparing to descend into the foreign plains beyond the mountains in order to rescue as many enslaved children as she can—until a sudden vision changes everything. Instead of heading East, she finds herself racing West, back to Krasnograd, where the Empress is in mortal danger. But in order to save the Empress, Valya must keep from destroying herself. With her native recklessness and her newfound magic only very partially under her control, though, she may have finally come across a mission beyond even her considerable strength. Unless she can channel her warrior ways into the healing power of a leader, she may lose everything she loves. The Dreaming Land III: The Sacrifice is the final book in The Dreaming Land mini-series, and the conclusion to the award-winning Zemnian Series, set in the unique matrilineal world of Zem’. With discussion questions at the end. Reading order of the Zemnian Series: The Zemnian Series: Slava’s Story The Midnight Land I: The Flight The Midnight Land II: The Gift The Zemnian Series: Dasha’s Story The Breathing Sea I: Burning The Breathing Sea II: Drowning The Zemnian Series: Valya’s Story The Dreaming Land I: The Challenge The Dreaming Land II: The Journey The Dreaming Land III: The Sacrifice