Inkmistress by Audrey Coulthurst

Inkmistress by Audrey Coulthurst

A sweeping, action-packed, and romantic fantasy full of dangerous magic and dark choices, perfect for fans of Tamora Pierce and Kristin Cashore--set in the same world as Of Fire and Stars.

Asra is a demigod with a dangerous gift: the ability to dictate the future by writing with her blood. To keep her power secret, she leads a quiet life as a healer on a remote mountain, content to help the people in her care and spend time with Ina, the mortal girl she loves.

But Asra's peaceful life is upended when bandits threaten Ina's village and the king does nothing to help. Desperate to protect her people, Ina begs Asra for assistance in finding her manifest--the animal she'll be able to change into as her rite of passage to adulthood. Asra uses her blood magic to help Ina, but her spell goes horribly wrong and the bandits destroy the village, killing Ina's family.

Unaware that Asra is at fault, Ina swears revenge on the king and takes a savage dragon as her manifest. To stop her, Asra must embark on a journey across the kingdom, becoming a player in lethal games of power among assassins, gods, and even the king himself.

Most frightening of all, she discovers the dark secrets of her own mysterious history--and the terrible, powerful legacy she carries in her blood.

• Sapphic Fantasy Romance: Asra would do anything for Ina, the girl she loves. But when her magic is responsible for the destruction of Ina's world, she must choose between stopping her love and saving the kingdom.
• Dangerous Blood Magic: As a demigod with the power to write the future, Asra's gift comes at a terrible price--and her biggest mistakes are written in blood.
• A Dark Revenge Quest: Fueled by grief, Ina bonds with a savage dragon to hunt down the king she blames for her family's death. But the path to vengeance may cost her own soul.
• Morally Grey Heroines: One girl's desperate act of love causes a tragedy; the other's quest for justice turns her into a monster. In this epic fantasy, there are no easy choices.

Audrey Coulthurst is a young adult author who writes tales about magic, horses, and kissing the wrong people. She may usually be found painting, singing, or riding a horse when she's not making up new stories. Audrey graduated from Portland State University with a master's degree in writing. She resides in the city of Santa Monica, California. Inkmistress and Of Fire and Stars, which was named a Publishers Weekly Flying Start, are her works. Audrey Coulthurst's website is www.audreycoulthurst.com.