Annith is tired of waiting. It seems like her whole life has been an exercise in patience as she has watched the head Abbess of the Convent of St. Mortain, god of Death, send out her sisters on dangerous assignments while she tends the home fires and trains endlessly. Her fellow assassin nuns Ismae and Sybella have already been sent out on dangerous missions and Annith is dying to join them. But then the Abbess informs her that she is destined to take over the role of convent Seeress, a role that demands she remain confined forever in a tiny room where she will use tools of prophecy to foretell the exciting lives of others while never experiencing any of it for herself. Furious, Annith rejects the Abbess’s command and sets out to find her sisters and avenge the death of a young novice who the Abbess sent out too soon. Along the way she becomes entangled with the terrifying Hellequins, “tasked with collecting the souls of the wicked” and delivering them to the underworld; befriends the Arduinnites, a group of warrior women sworn to protect the young and the weak; and finally even meets and attends the young duchess of Brittany herself, who is readying for a war with the French that looks utterly un-winnable. But now that Annith has tasted freedom, she is determined to do whatever she can to serve her sisters, her country and her god–except a troubling love affair with an unexpected suitor has her questioning her every move. Can Annith set aside her confusing feelings in order to join her sister nuns and their allies in one last desperate plot to save Brittany? While this third volume of His Fair Assassins trilogy follows a pattern that has become familiar to fans of the series, it is still an immensely satisfying read that concludes in a deeply gratifying manner. Though the publication date isn’t until November 2014, this is one title that will make you thankful winter is coming!
