Charlotte's magic can grow life from the smallest seed. Albert's power can bend metal to his will. Their love was doomed from the start.
In the shadows of the Kruluver Mountains, where metal sings to those with the right blood, Charlotte discovers a refuge that will become her tomb.
Rescued from certain death by a secretive family of Metalists, Charlotte falls for Albert, the youngest son whose gentle nature seems at odds with his brutal world. She brings warmth to their cold stone caves and dares to hope for a future together.
But when Charlotte becomes pregnant with twins, she uncovers the Metalists' darkest secret: female children with Power are never allowed to live. It is tradition. It is law. It is absolute.
With her daughter's life hanging in the balance, Charlotte must make an impossible choice—stay and watch her child die, or flee into a frozen wilderness that has claimed countless lives before hers.
Some traditions are written in iron and sealed in blood. Some loves end not in triumph, but in tragedy.
This is the story of how Irwin Miner lost his mother before he ever knew her name.
CONTENT WARNING: This prequel to The Metalist's Journey series contains graphic violence, infanticide, and deeply tragic themes with no happy ending. This is a dark fantasy tragedy, not a romance. Recommended only for readers who can handle unflinching brutality in their fantasy fiction.
Reading Order: This prequel can be read before or after the main series. New readers may prefer to start with Secrets of Urthis (Book 1) or The Metalist's Journey: Complete Edition.