Evil’s Whisper by Jordan Elizabeth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the combined story of Sefina, Uthias, Sabiya and other characters who are trying to hold their own with the resources and attitudes they have in order to survive and avoid the perils of being who they are in the land which used to belong to the Kadians, a race of ancients who destroyed themselves through misuse of power and with their wickedness created a sword and who are nearly all extinct, but whose lineage has split the land between three queens were born of the last of the Kadians, Ucenoia, a bullheaded yet stable neutral woman, Sia who is beautiful and selfish and the graceful and righteous Amalita. The Kadians became spirits of the dead who roam the deserts still searching for the sword and help and hinder those who travel within the desert itself and who have prophesied the birth of two daughters, one of Darkness and one of Light, there are those who seek to control the Darkness, but the spirits wish her destroyed instead.

Sabiya is a girl who lives in Juniper and has a life of hardship, but remains the daughter of rich parents, however, when she escapes into the desert to deliver a message, she is found by outlaws who kidnap her and take her to their camps, they want to do awful things to her and she should just keep her mouth shut and let them, but she tries to reason with them and pleads for her release, when she sees a young man brought into the camp, she sees an opportunity for an ally, especially when he states that his brother will come and rescue him. Meanwhile, Uthias is heading towards the outlaw camp to save his brother and so leaving his horse behind, he quietly heads towards the camp, when he gets there, he is thankful.that the night is clear and he passes through lines of tents with ease, he can hear the cries of a girl, but puts her out of his head, he cannot save her as well, he hears a boy scream and knows it is his destination and as he enters the tent, he sees his brother being whipped by one of the outlaws. He makes his presence known and takes down the outlaws holding his brother with ease, saying that the Killer doesn’t show mercy to those who harm his family and after he has untied him, his brother demands that he goes back for the other girl in the tent whom he has promised his brother will rescue as well, much to Uthias’s annoyance, he goes back and releases her from her ties and tells them both to run towards the exit. Uthias then orders his brother to steal a horse and as a distraction, he sets fire to the tents in the camp and on reaching the exit, summons his horse and pulls the girl into the saddle with him and sets off to return her to her home.

The next morning, Sabiya goes to work, she is a maid to the Seeir of Juniper City and has served her for years, she considers her as a friend and confidant, as well as her employer, she is treated fairly, more so than at home where she is beaten by her father, hated by her brother and is treated indifferently by the rest of them. She has no future there and when another chance comes for her to go to Uthias with a message from the Seeir, she jumps at the chance. It is there that she meets the rest of his family, including his sister Sefina and this is where their paths intertwine with the fate of the country they live in, but what that fate has in store for them is unclear, but what is clear are the tasks they must complete, even if the reasons for this are not.

This is a tale of good versus evil in a country of split loyalties, there is magic and there are spirits, untold hardship and danger along the way, but also love and belief, but will the good hold up against those who want to use it for ill, or will the darkness spread across the land as foretold?

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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