Maledicte

the long version

From a dazzling new voice in fantasy comes a mesmerizing tale of treachery, passion, intrigue, betrayal, and an act of pure vengeance that threatens to bring down a kingdom. Seething with decadent appetites unchecked by law or gods, the court of Antyre is ruled by the last of a dissolute aristocracy. But now to the kingdom comes a handsome, enigmatic nobleman, Maledicte, whose perfect manners, enchanting charisma, and brilliant swordplay entice the most jaded tastes he comes across . . . and yet he conceals a hunger beyond reckoning. For Maledicte is a transgender man that was actually born a woman named Miranda--a beautiful thief raised in the city's vicious slums. And Maledicte will do anything--even promise his soul to Black-Winged Ani, the most merciless of Antyre's exiled gods--to reclaim his Janus, the lover whose passion still haunts his dreams. As his machinations strike at the heart of Antyre's powerful noble houses, Maledicte must battle not only his own growing bloodlust, but also his lover's newly kindled and ruthless ambitions. As Ani's force grows insatiable and out of control, Maledicte has no choice but to wield a weapon that may set him free . . . or forever doom him and everything he holds dear. From the Trade Paperback edition.