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Time is short. The proposed marriage of Valentyna and Celimus draws ever closer, but Wyl's latest guise leaves him powerless to intervene. His plans in ruins, the former General of the Legion becomes more and more reckless in his attempts to prevent the union of his mortal enemy and the woman he loves. But he must be careful to heed the warning of the manwitch, Elysius: Myrren's gift will bow to no man's will. As events in Morgravia, Briavel and the Mountain Kingdom draw to a climax, the fate of three nations will rest with the extraordinary abilities of a small boy named Fynch, and the capricious magic of the Quickening. Wyl Thirsk is about to discover the truth of Myrren's legacy: a gift of life . . . or a curse beyond death?

When Wyl Thirsk, General of the Morgravian Legion, is forced to watch the torture of Myrren, a young woman accused of witchcraft, it seems little enough comfort to speed her passing. But Myrren is grateful for even this small mercy and promises Wyl a gift. He thanks her but dismisses the notion - what could this poor, doomed girl have to give him?It is only years later that Wyl, shorn of his friends and allies, betrayed by his king, and forced to make an impossible choice, remembers the dying words of the young woman about to burn for the crime of witchcraft. As his enemy's sword draws closer, Wyl finally understands the meaning of Myrren's dying words, and he wonders: had he known what that one act of kindness would bring, would he have behaved otherwise?Gripping the reader from the very first page, Myrren's Gift marks Fiona McIntosh as one of fantasy fiction's most gifted storytellers.

The machinations of King Celimus have robbed Wyl Thirsk of almost everyone he held dear, and those few who have survived will bear the scars forever. Myrren's gift offers Wyl the opportunity to strike back, but at what price? His best friend is murdered, mercenaries pillage the land in the name of his beloved Legion, and now the mad king threatens the two women who are more precious to him than life itself. He cannot save both. The old seer's advice comes back to him: find the Manwitch. Only Myrren's natural father can help break the hold of the Quickening. But Wyl's heart pleads otherwise: protect your loved ones. Once again, it seems, Wyl Thirsk faces an impossible choice. The path ahead diverges. Left and right. Head and heart. Blood and memory. A misstep here could cost him everything ...

For the sake of an imperiled kingdom, the line between "traitor"and "savior" must blur . . . and vanish.Though barely a teenager, Wyl Thirsk must now assume the role he has been destined for since birth: commander of the Morgravian army -- an awesome responsibility that calls him to the royal palace of the crown prince Celimus. Already a cruel despot who delights in the suffering of others, Celimus enjoys forcing his new general to witness his depraved "entertainments." But a kindness to a condemned witch in her final, agonizing hours earns young Thirsk a miraculous bequest, while inflaming the wrath of his liege lord.With war looming in the north, Wyl must obey Celimus's treacherous dictates and undertake a suicidal journey to an enemy court -- armed with a mysterious power that could prove both boon and curse. For unless he accepts Myrren's gift, it will surely destroy him . . . and the land he must defend.