Each element is associated with eight blessings, and every individual is graced at birth with three of these blessings, which offer them guidance and direction for their entire lives. Their loved ones fight desperately to remind them of their human natures-and to keep them safe in an increasingly hostile world.Įveryone in the country of Welce is affiliated with one of the five elements: air, water, fire, wood, and earth. As they switch between human and animal shapes, often without any control over the process, these shifters live short and precarious lives. Shape-shifters live among ordinary people in present-day America, hiding their existence from all but a few trusted friends and family members. The six travelers barely trust each other, let alone the nobles they encounter, but soon they discover unwelcome news: War is coming. To determine which Houses might turn traitor and which ones will stand with the crown, the king sends out a small band of four mystics and two of his most loyal soldiers, the Riders. Religious fanatics roam the land, persecuting and murdering mystics-rare individuals with magical abilities. Unrest plagues the land of Gillengaria as some of the twelve noble Houses whisper discontent about the king. But sometimes the divine music of the angels is not enough to prevent conflict among mortals-and sometimes the god can’t even hear the angels singing. Because their ancestors fled centuries ago from the violence of a war-torn planet, harmony is prized among all people. Soon Leah learns that everyone-her regent, her lover, and even her daughter-have secrets that could save the nation, but might very well break her heart.In Samaria, angels raise their beautiful voices to intercede with the god Jovah on behalf of humans.

Leah is simultaneously thrilled, terrified, hopeful, moved, and almost undone as she slowly attempts to become part of her daughter’s life.īut when the regent asks her to spy on ambassadors from a visiting nation, she develops a dangerous friendship with a foreign woman and finds herself falling in love with a man from her past. Leah finds she enjoys the challenges of opening a shop catering to foreign visitors, especially since it affords her the opportunity to get to know Mally, the child she abandoned five years ago. Leah is reluctant to take on a new assignment, but Darien has dangled the perfect lure to draw her in.

But she can scarcely catch her breath before she is summoned to meet with the regent, Darien Serlast, the man who made her a spy. Leah Frothen has returned home to rebuild the life she’s avoided for years.

In the latest novel in Sharon Shinn’s Elemental Blessings series, a woman is confronted with the past she left behind-and an uncertain future. FROM THE NATIONAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF JEWELED FIRE

Unquiet Land by Sharon Shinn