The River She Became

Yaseema works as a scholar for the Empire that has conquered her kingdom. Her post is cataloguing fae relics. After dark she steals those same artefacts back, hoping to return magic to her dying land.

When she finds the long lost key that opens the way across the River into the fae world, she goes, determined to save her people. The realm on the far side is ruthless, ruled by monsters in beautiful skin.

There she meets a cold-eyed captain who sees through her lies. He has secrets of his own: he serves a cruel regime while working to bring it down from within. He needs the crown of an ancient Fae Queen, the very relic Yaseema is after, to save his family from a fate worse than death.

Yaseema's magic is a mystery even to her, and it could help him find the crown. She could also take it first for her own people. To survive, the two must outwit ancient curses and fight creatures born of nightmares.

Action and dangerous romance drive this first book of a fantasy duology, with twists along the way. As loyalties blur and secrets come out, the question is whether they can reach the crown without falling for each other.