Pacts Arcane and Otherwise

Book excerpt: When arcanist Kamira discovers a demon trapped in underground ruins, she immediately knows that the high mages lied about their victory centuries earlier. What she doesn’t know is that the deal she will strike with the demon, to save not only herself and her best friend, mage killer Veelk, but also the city she calls home, will cause ripples across the entire continent and beyond. Pitted against corrupt mages, scheming demons, duplicitous inventors, and common thugs, Kamira and Veelk will have to navigate both the dangerous dark alleys in the Free City of Kaighal and the vast halls of the High Towers where intrigue and deception are just as common as spellcasting. And where their magic and blades won’t suffice, they’ll have to use cunning to outsmart their enemies and distinguish allies from traitors, because to save their home, Kamira and Veelk will have to do more than just discover the true intentions of the trapped demon—they’ll have to face his captors, and throughout those battles they’ll need more than witty banter to survive.