Until the riddle is answered, the curse will grow.
It’s been twenty years since a curse drove the kingdom of Strale into drought, leaving only a witch’s riddle to offer clues how to break it. Countless people have tried and failed, their bones littering the kingdom's deserts.
When one last, desperate plea goes out, the call is answered by the Knights of Sonus, an all-female band of mercenaries whose ancient order serves a water spirit. There is no one better suited to breaking the curse and, as a first-year Knight, Aryina craves victory more than most. But the desert can only support so many, so when the king turns away all but two Knights, the task of solving the witch’s riddle falls solely on Aryina’s inexperienced shoulders.
If she can't unravel the puzzle and break the curse before their water supply runs out, then all that's left of Strale--and the reputation of the legendary Knights of Sonus--will crumble like the desert earth.
Beth Alvarez is an Illinois native living in Memphis, Tennessee, along with her husband, daughter, a Siberian husky, and a very mean cat.
A visual arts major, she has worked as a freelance graphic designer. Against all advice, she makes her own book covers.
Reading The Hobbit at 8 led Beth to fall in love with fantasy at an early age. She later developed a love for vampires and the supernatural, which is unsurprising, given she never outgrew the goth phase.
In her free time, Beth enjoys drawing, hitting the road in her beloved Mustang, sipping tea, sewing for her Asian ball-jointed dolls, and making her prior-Marine husband spar in the kitchen for sake of writing more convincing combat scenes.