THEY TOOK HER SISTER. THEY KILLED HER FIANCÉ.
NOW SHE’S RAISING THE DEAD.

❖ ❖ ❖

When sea dragon-riding marauders torch her village and steal her sister, Astraya loses everything—except the soul of her fiancé, still bound to her in death. As she learns to wield forbidden soul magic, Astraya builds an undead army to fight back, fueled by vengeance and guided by the voice of the man she once loved.

But the raiders’ power runs deeper than she knows. Their leader, Svengaard, has twisted soul bonding into a weapon—using enslaved dragons to burn entire cities from the sea. And he wants Astraya’s magic for himself.

Phoebus, a roguish merchant who hides his own inability to soul bond, is hunted by dragons and haunted by secrets. When fate throws him into Astraya’s path, they’ll have to join forces to stop Svengaard before he tightens his grip on the world.

But with the dead whispering in her ear and a questionably trustworthy pirate she might be starting to care for as more than an ally, Astraya must decide how far she’s willing to go—and what she’s willing to become.

A Swell of Serpents is a sweeping fantasy debut about grief, love, and the ghosts we carry.