Duncan, Emily A. Wicked Saints: Let Them Fear Her. Book 1 of the Something Dark and Holy series. 385p. ISBN 9781250195661. Available as an audiobook from the library.
The nations of Kalyazin and Tranavia were once ruled by holy men who could commune with the gods and call upon them to draw magical powers. Tranavia overthrew its clerics in a bloody revolution and began using blood magic to the same effective effect as divine magic. For more than a hundred years, both countries have been in a state of war, with residents of Kalyazin viewing those of Tranavia as little more than godless heretics dabbling in the dark art of blood magic. For their part, Tranavians view Kalyazinians as intolerant bigots to claim to talk with gods.
Thirty years ago, the last of Kalyazin cleric was killed in battle and became a saint. Since then the country has not had a champion who could communicate directly with the gods. Then Nadya came along. Unlike most clerics, who are favored by one deity, Nadya has the ear of the entire Kalyazin pantheon. Her life is worth so much due to the powers she can harness that she was hidden away in a monastery, to hone her skills. When the monastery, which sits atop a mountain 7,000 steps high, falls to an assault team led by Serafin, the High Prince of Tranavia himself, Nadya is barely able to escape with her life through tunnels.
At war for more than 3 years, Serafin is weary of it all and the only thing that consoles him is the bottle. He longs for a day when this war is finally done and he is able to return home. Rumors have reached him that his father the King is displeased with him, and Serafin thought that capturing the cleric Kalyazin had done so much to hide away would finally gain him acceptance. But she somehow escaped his clutches.
In the forest below the mountain, Nadya encounters Malachiasz, who was once a Vulture, a Tranavian so corrupted by blood magic that he has transcended part of his humanity and has turned into a monster. Wanted by Tranavia, Malachiasz has united a small band of defectors who plan to assassinate the King of Tranavia and impose a peace between the two warring parties. She hesitantly enters into an alliance of sorts with the dark boy, since their end goals are currently the same. They make their way to the Tranavian capital, where the King has called for a ceremony to find his son a wife. Recalled from the front, Serafin also returns, now more than ever convinced that someone is trying to assassinate him, and that person very well may be his own father!
As the three of them navigate the treacherous waters of power, can they trust in one another to see their plan come to fruition?
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