Raven's Hand (Raven's Chronicle Book 1)

"A line of white fire burned diagonally across my back from my right shoulder down to my left buttock. My breath hissed out through gritted teeth. I struggled to hold back the scream of pain trying to usher forth. Balled fists and white knuckles bunched my silken robe around my breasts, leaving my backside completely exposed to the implement in Mistress Evelyn’s hand.
My legs were tucked beneath me, as I faced my bedchamber alone. Mistress Evelyn sighed heavily behind me. She meant to teach me a lesson I should have learned long ago. Still, I couldn’t help it that I had questions."--RAVEN'S HAND

RAVEN DREAMS OF A YOUNG MAN who will come to save her from her future enslavement to the royal family of House Rainier, where she will become the bond to the new king. There her power as a Daughter of Eliam will be exploited to give the king supernatural ability over his rivals among the other great houses of the kingdom. She dreams of this young man, but she knows that it is only folly; the imaginings of a young girl looking to escape her fate...or is it? One night the young man sweeps her away during her dream and she dares to ask his name. He replies that his name is Killian...and Killian is no mere figment of her imagination, for he has been dreaming of a mysterious raven-haired girl. Unknowingly their destinies are intertwined with the fate of the kingdom, the will of a supposedly dead god, and the deadly machinations of the great houses as they seek to rule. Will the terrible Malkind spirits have their way, or can Raven and Killian somehow find one another before its too late?