Leah Cypess

George R.R. Martin drew on Tolkien, who was inspired by William Morris, Medieval epics, and Norse mythology. This new collection of epic fantasy tales explores the classic themes of good vs evil, the low-born hero, and the arrogant overlord, and laced them with a taste of sorcery that reaches back to the early sources, and stirs them in with the brand new storytellers of today. This new title in our successful Gothic Fantasy Short Stories collection contains a fabulous mix of classic and brand new writing, with contemporary authors from the US, Canada, and the UK. Contemporary authors include Brian Bogart, Ramsey Campbell, Evey Brett, Leah Cypess, Kate Dollarhyde, Lucinda Gunnin, Joshua K. Haarstad, Anne Leonard, E.H. Mann, Alison McBain, Emily McCosh, Dan Micklethwaite, Wendy Nikel, Mary O'Donnell, Aimee Ogden, Cassandra Taylor, M. Elizabeth Ticknor and Nemma Wollenfang. These feature alongside classic stories by authors such as Andrew Lang, George MacDonald, William Morris, Edith Nesbit and Clark Ashton Smith.

A young sorceress's entire life has been shaped to destroy the empire controlling her world. She could change history. But everything she thinks she knows is a lie. The sequel to the critically acclaimed Death Sworn will thrill fans of Leigh Bardugo and Robin LaFevers. At seventeen, Ileni lost her magical power and was exiled to the hidden caves of the assassins. She trained the assassins in magic--and fell in love with one of them. And she discovered her entire life had been built on a lie. After all of this, she wants to see the truth for herself. She infiltrates the Imperial Academy of Sorcery. She will see everything she despises about the corrupt empire--its thirst for power, merciless control, and careless violence. But she also finds something she never expected--friends, and a place to belong. Ileni no longer knows whose side she is on. Leah Cypess spins an intricate and beautiful conclusion to Death Sworn.

When a young sorceress is exiled to teach magic to a clan of assassins, she will find that secrets can be even deadlier than swords. Teen Vogue proclaimed, "It's impossible not to fall deep into the dark yet alluring world of sorcery and secret assassins." A dangerous and eerie fantasy about murder, shocking discoveries, and fiery star-crossed romance that readers of Cinda Williams Chima and Robin LaFevers won't be able to put down. Ileni is losing her magic. And that means she's losing everything: her position as the rising star of her people, her purpose in life, and even the young man she loves. Sent to the assassins' cave hidden deep within the mountains, she expects no one will ever hear from her again. The last two sorcerers sent died within weeks of each other. Accidents? Or something more sinister? As Ileni navigates the dangers--both natural and human--of the caves, she'll discover secrets that have been kept for decades. And she'll find an ally in Sorin, the deadly young man who could be the assassins' next leader. With Sorin determined to protect her, sparks--magical and romantic--will fly. But will even he understand the choice she must make in the end? Enemies to Lovers: He's a deadly assassin who greets her with a knife to the throat. She's the sorceress he's sworn to protect. The line between hate and love has never been sharper. Secrets and Lies: Ileni isn't the first sorceress sent to the assassins' caves, but the last two died under suspicious circumstances. Uncovering the truth might be the only way to avoid becoming the next victim. A Heroine Losing Her Magic: Ileni was once the rising star of her people, but now her power is abandoning her. Trapped among killers with only her wits to defend her, she must hide her greatest weakness before it gets her killed. Dark Fantasy World: Step into the assassins' mountain caves, a world of shadows, secrets, and a clan of killers with their own deadly code of honor.

Here be ghosts, the maps said, and that was all. In this haunted kingdom, ghosts linger-not just in the deepest forests or the darkest caverns, but alongside the living, as part of a twisted palace court that revels all night and sleeps through the daylight hours. Darri's sister was trapped here as a child. And now Darri has a chance to save her sister ...if she agrees to a betrothal with the prince of the dead. But nothing is simple in this eerie kingdom-not her sister, who has changed beyond recognition; not her plan, which will be thrown off track almost at once; and not the undead prince, who seems more alive than anyone else. Can Darri's warrior heart withstand the most wrenching choice of all?