The final battle is here... As the Sleeping Prince tightens his hold on the land, the net closes in on the ragged band of rebels trying desperately to defeat him. The end is coming - and not everyone will survive. Explosive, rich and darkly addictive, this is the stunning conclusion to Melinda Salisbury's internationally bestselling trilogy

The final battle is coming... As the Sleeping Prince tightens his hold on Lormere and Tregellan, the net closes in on the ragged band of rebels trying desperately to defeat him. Twylla and Errin are separated, isolated, and running out of time. The final battle is coming, and Aurek will stop at nothing to keep the throne forever... Explosive, rich and darkly addictive, this is the stunning conclusion to Mel Salisbury's internationally best-selling trilogy that began with THE SIN EATER'S DAUGHTER

Seventeen-year-old Twylla lives in the castle. But although she's engaged to the prince, Twylla isn't exactly a member of the court. She's the executioner. As the Goddess embodied, Twylla instantly kills anyone she touches. Each month, she's taken to the prison and forced to lay her hands on those accused of treason. No one will ever love a girl with murder in her veins. Even the prince, whose royal blood supposedly makes him immune to Twylla's fatal touch, avoids her company.But then a new guard arrives, a boy whose easy smile belies his deadly swordsmanship. And unlike the others, he's able to look past Twylla's executioner robes and see the girl, not the Goddess. Yet Twylla's been promised to the prince, and knows what happens to people who cross the queen. However, a treasonous secret is the least of Twylla's problems. The queen has a plan to destroy her enemies, a plan that requires a stomach-churning, unthinkable sacrifice. Will Twylla do what it takes to protect her kingdom? Or will she abandon her duty in favor of a doomed love?

This is the Oz book which L. Frank Baum considered his best. It starts quietly enough with Trot and Cap'n Bill rowing along a shore of the Pacific Ocean to visit one of the many caves near their home on the California coast. Suddenly, a mighty whirlpool engulfs them. The old sailorman and the little girl are miraculously saved and regain consciousness to find themselves in a sea cavern. (To this day, Trot asserts she felt mermaid arms about her during those terrible moments under water.) From here on, one perilous adventure crowds in upon another. In Jinxland they meet the Scarecrow who takes charge of things once Cap'n Bill is transformed into a tiny grasshopper with a wooden leg. An exciting royal reception greets the adventurers upon their return to the Emerald City.

This biography reveals the lost history of the life of the 1920s Black female international superstar. Mills was lionized by the crowned heads in Europe and opened doors for generations of Black female stars from Lena Horne to Diana Ross. Although her career and shows changed the nature of Black entertainment, and thereby the wider American popular culture, she was largely forgotten in later years. Anyone who wants to understand the history of Black entertainment from Bert Williams to Michael Jackson and, by implication, the history of American popular culture, needs to understand the ways in which Florence Mills changed the rules forever.

Using magic to control the golems he has raised, the legendary Sleeping Prince has woken, killed King Merek, and taken Lormere, and many of its people are refugees, including Errin and her sick mother--but there are those who oppose the Prince, and Errin, a skilled apothecary, may hold the key to ending his power.

Originally published:: London: Faber, 1974.