Showing results by author "D. K. Holmberg" in All Categories

Fresh out of prison, Jonathan Aguelon wants one big score before he leaves the city for good. The job will be more complicated than any that he's ever attempted, but this time he can steal more than money: He can get revenge—but only if he follows a mysterious benefactor’s plan. With the right team, Jonathan can succeed, but much in the city has changed during his time away, and the Dragon doesn't have the draw he once did. The team of outcasts he assembles needs time to prepare, but time is the one luxury they don’t have.

The archivists are defeated, but their plan was already set in place. A new lisincend has emerged, more dangerous than before. Incendin still possesses the powerful artifact. And a spirit shaping placed on the king must be released. Tan has potential to be a warrior shaper - one who can shape all the elements - but shaping doesn't work for him the same as with other shapers. While he struggles to control his new magic, his friends work to free the king from the spirit shaping.

Trained to destroy sorcery from a young age, Imogen Inaratha left that life behind, having come to see magic differently. When her brother asks for help, she embarks on a dangerous journey - and must face a part of her past she wanted to forget. An encounter with one of the mythical Porapeth changes the course of the journey. Protecting him forces her to face dark magical creatures and a powerful sorcerer determined to destroy the Porapeth in his quest for even more power. To succeed, she must learn the truth of the blade she’d long thought she’d mastered.

Torian Ranth is no longer the struggling student he once was. Now a skilled sahir to be reckoned with, Torian arrives at the devastated university. It still stands amid the remnants of the Rusav onslaught.

No longer alone, Sam and Alec struggle to find time to continue their studies together. Sam knows that she is more than the lowborn she'd long believed, now living and training in the palace, but still doesn't feel as if she quite fits in. Worse, it seems as if Alec has moved on without her, preferring his new life in the university. Alec has quickly risen in rank, but that only draws attention to him. Learning from master physickers has its benefits, but there are dangers and he's not certain whether he can trust the new friends he's made.

No longer forced to hide his ability, Rsiran now Slides openly throughout the city as he helps it recover from the recent attack. Requirements of his time continue to mount, not only as he tries to help his friends, but new responsibilities to the guild force him to interact with the Elvraeth, where he discovers the uneasy alliance that exists between the guilds and the council. When one of the great crystals goes missing, that alliance is tested, and the quest to find the crystal leads him to realize a secret long hidden.

While trying to track down her brother, Sam discovers she isn't through with Marin quite yet. An attack proves that a traitor sympathetic to Marin remains active in the city, but training prevents Sam from finding answers. With the Thelns once more in the city, Elaine doesn't believe Sam should be involved in the search, which means she has to go off on her own. Doing so risks her position at the palace, but any other choice puts her brother in danger.

Those who fight the darkness have scattered as the ancient power grows stronger. When Ciara is abducted by summoners of dark power, they seduce her with lessons on how to summon the elementals, an education she never received in the barracks. Only a distant part knows that she must find a way to escape before they manage to turn her to their side.

Ciara has traveled to the barracks, but the promised teaching has not come to pass, leaving her worse off than before and her people without the nya'shin for protection. If she can't master the summoning, she fears the darkness will claim her. But now that the darkness has revealed itself, Jasn must find a way to save Alena from her connection to the draasin before that connection kills her. Only then can he search for whether Katya was destroyed by the darkness or learn if he can still save her.

As Endric continues his search for the traitor Urik, a new threat emerges, one that demands the attention of the Denraen. Now an officer, Endric should be a part of the planning, but the general seems determined to keep him from it. Endric searches for information that might help him understand, and as he finally thinks he’s getting close to discovering word on Urik, he’s sent from the city on what appears nothing more than a pointless mission. When an asset he cares for goes missing, Endric betrays the Denraen to go after them.

The Grand Mage's plan has been thwarted, but he and his allies still search for power, but Laric still doesn't know what he intends—only that he must be stopped. As Laric searches for answers, and his friends struggle to understand the nature of the newly formed dragon bond, he finds the link to the dragon Sashaak has begun to change. The dragons share memories, but there are parts of their shared memories they have lost—and that might be the key to what the Grand Mage intends. Power builds, and the dragons feel the rising influence. Soon all will feel that influence.

A job pits Jonathan and his team against Heziah, where they finally find a way to fully rid themselves of him. Now jailed, Heziah is no longer a threat. The team can finally relax—and Jonathan can retire with his newfound wealth.

In Atenas, the dark summoners of the Khalan press their attack. Alena's discovery of how to use spirit gives them an advantage, but the Khalan have numbers, and have infiltrated much of the city. Forced to lead, Alena struggles with the expectations now placed upon her. Returned from captivity and now a master of summoning, Ciara is the key to stopping the Khalan and Tenebeth for good, but she will need the help of both the warriors of Atenas and the remnants of Hyaln.

Having saved her people from the danger of the Branox, Imogen must find a way to lead them home. The way back is treacherous, and there’s an ever-present threat of more dark creatures attacking. When hunted by a new threat, the sacred patterns are not enough. Imogen must find a way to bring her people together while staying on the path the Porapeth have seen for her, but even that might not lead her to safety. The first of the blade must be more than a sacred sword master. If she can’t unlock the potential hidden deep inside her, all her people will fall.

Having found the true power of her blade, Imogen must use it to protect her people. After preventing her brother from taking the power of the Porapeth and becoming the very thing her people have defended against, Imogen now chases him, believing he can still be saved. When a dangerous creature not seen in centuries emerges and begins to hunt those with magic, Imogen fears her brother responsible. Stopping these creatures involves an understanding of the sacred patterns Imogen hasn’t fully mastered, and requires her to protect those the Leier have long warred with.

There are none at the university who can teach Torian what it means for him to be a valsahir. When the headmaster suggests he convince the Viper to teach him, Torian must first prove he’s worthy. As secrets begin to unravel, the distinction between friend and foe blurs. The Viper, once thought an adversary, becomes an enigma, compelling Torian to grapple with a dangerous dilemma. Is the Viper genuinely the sinister force they have all feared?

Now that he’s bonded the dragon Sashaak, Laric Mason must come to understand the power of the bond—and the potential power it grants him. Without a mentor, Laric struggles to understand the lessons of a dragon. Having imprisoned Talia, Laric and his friends know it's only a matter of time before mages come looking for her and Daelon. When Talia escapes, there's a new urgency. They must defend the village against a mage, but she's not after the village. She's after the dragon.

Having saved the village from the Korthal attack, Laric Mason faces a new reality where there are now expectations of him. As he trains with the mage Talia, he discovers that the lessons he learned from his grandmother prepared him for advanced magic in a way his school never did. But his grandmother hid other secrets, and Laric is not the only one after them. With a rogue mage posing an ongoing threat, he and his friends must train to use the power he never wanted, but it's a power that might now be necessary.