The Nightingale's Tooth

Book excerpt: France, 13th century. Near the shores of the Mediterranean lives Vara Svobodová with her father, a prominent merchant, his barbarian wife, and her scientist father. Though the shadowy gazes of Great Gods and the greedy hands of local lord Petru Dominus hang over them, Vara lives a comfortable life. That all changes when she learns that she is da resu, destined to life after death and servitude of her unearthly powers to he who slays her. Rumours of her true nature catch the attention of the increasingly mad Lord Petru, who covets power, has aspirations for the throne, and desires a resura of his own. Surrounded by spies, plagued with inexplicable visions, and trapped in the only home she has ever known, Vara finds the ambitions of those around her as sharp as the fabled nightingale's tooth. Caught in the middle, she realizes that it is her fate to die. But who will hold her leash when she does?