His Mortal Demise

Kochin is a heartsooth, one of a rare few who can heal any wound except death. When Nhika dies, he refuses to accept it. He keeps her body in a casket that preserves it and waits for a miracle that does not come.

Grief pushes him toward madness, and he decides the answer can only be found on Yarong, the island the first heartsooths called home. It is lush and ravaged by battle. He goes there alone.

Months later, Nhika wakes in a manor house she knows, and Kochin is gone. She follows his trail across Theumas and learns what he did to bring her back, and how war has reshaped the world while she was gone. Meanwhile, Kochin learns the grisly truth about raising someone from the grave and has to decide how much he will give up to be with her again.

This is the second and final book of The Last Bloodcarver duology, a fantasy with a medical magic system and a setting inspired by Vietnam. The story alternates between Kochin and Nhika. Expect a romance under heavy strain, bloody and dark in places, with moral choices that carry a real price.