From award-winning author Nancy Kress comes a lush historical fantasy that reimagines the life of Anne Boleyn from the lens of the witch who helps guide her in courtly rise—an enchanted tale of sisterhood, power, and a dangerous bid for the throne.

Alysoun Rowe descends from an ancient line of cunning women—healers and hedge witches whose full power only awakens when they bond with their destined Third. But after a spell goes frightfully wrong, she discovers her familiar is no ordinary object or animal. It’s a distant kinswoman: Anne Boleyn, a brilliant young lady on the rise in King Henry VIII’s luminous yet treacherous court.

Anne will do anything to wear the crown of England. And Alysoun will go just as far to unlock the wild magick spiraling inside her, even if it means breaking her coven’s age-old rules.

As the king’s desire morphs into a dangerous obsession and a ruthless witch hunt closes in, the two women form a reluctant truce. Bound by fate in a realm of lust, rivalry, and betrayal, they each face a choice. But how far will they go to seize power in a world that would gladly watch them burn?

© 2026 by Nancy Kress, all rights reserved.

<p>Nancy Kress grew up near Buffalo, New York, and presently lives in Seattle with her husband, writer Jack Skillingstead, and Pippin, the world’s most spoiled Chihuahua. Best known as a science fiction and fantasy writer, Kress has won six Nebula Awards from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association, two Hugo Awards from members of Worldcon (the World Science Fiction Convention), and numerous other awards and accolades. Her work has been translated into fourteen languages. Prior to becoming a full-time writer, Kress worked as an elementary school teacher, a corporate copywriter, and a college instructor. The Tudor period of English history has fascinated her from the moment she first read about Katherine of Aragon at the age of fifteen. When not reading or writing, Kress plays chess—badly, but with great enthusiasm.</p>