The Girl in the Tower

Vasilisa, once hailed as a hero, is now branded a witch and driven from her home. Faced with a choice between marriage or a convent, she chooses a third path: adventure. Disguised as a boy, she rides her stallion Solovey away from her village, rescuing girls stolen from raided settlements along the way and drawing the attention of Moscow's court.

In the city she is reunited with her sister, now a conservative royal matron, and her brother, a monk with a restless streak of his own. Her bravery earns her a place at the Grand Prince's side, but the disguise is a dangerous gamble — one misstep and her identity, and her life, are forfeit. As bandit raids and political maneuvering threaten the city, Vasya finds herself pulled deeper into a struggle that reaches beyond Moscow's walls, and back to the winter-demon Morozko.

Second in the Winternight Trilogy, this installment trades the isolated village of the first book for court intrigue and a wider, more dangerous Rus.