Caitlin Sweet.
The Pattern Scars.
ChiZine Publications. 2011
Nola is born into poverty in Sarsenay,
a prosperous northern land where the exploits of long-dead heroes still resonate.
She spends her girlhood as a brothel seer, imagining a life at the castle,
where she would prophesy for king and court.
This seems impossible until she meets a handsome and enigmatic man—a
castle seer who promises to help her realize her dream.
Instead, he draws her into a web of murder and treachery,
of obsessive desires and ancient, forbidden rites
that will threaten not just her, but also the land and people she loves.