Brief Description
Elinor has the power to control fire, but to avoid a loveless marriage she joins the Royal Navy. There, she uses her talent to fight pirates in the Caribbean. But her power is growing, threatening not only her enemies but her own life.
Learn More about the Book
In 1812, Elinor Pembroke wakes to find her bedchamber in flames--and extinguishes them with a thought.
At 21, she is old to manifest magical talent, but the evidence is unmistakable: she not only has the ability to start fires, but the far more powerful ability to control and extinguish them. She is an Extraordinary, and the only one in England capable of wielding fire in over one hundred years.
As an Extraordinary, she is respected and feared, but to her father, she represents power and prestige for himself. Mr. Pembroke, having spent his life studying magic, is determined to control Elinor and her talent by forcing her to marry where he chooses, a marriage that will produce even more powerful offspring. Trapped between the choices of a loveless marriage or living penniless and dependent on her parents, Elinor takes a third path: she defies tradition and society to join the Royal Navy.
Assigned to serve under Captain Miles Ramsay aboard the frigate Athena, she turns her fiery talent on England's enemies, French privateers and vicious pirates preying on English ships in the Caribbean. At first feared by her shipmates, a growing number of victories make her truly part of Athena's crew and bring her joy in her fire. But as her power grows and changes in unexpected ways, Elinor's ability to control it is challenged.
She may have the power to destroy her enemies utterly--but could it be at the cost of her own life?
About the Author
Melissa grew up a nomad, finally settling in Utah, though her heart belongs to the Oregon coast. Her love of reading fantasy stories has been a constant in her life and she still remembers the places she lived by the books she was reading there: the Riddle-Master trilogy in New York, the Foundation series in Colorado, Howl's Moving Castle in Texas, Crown Duel in Utah. That love of reading grew into a love of writing, first critical essays and reviews, then fiction. She also loves roleplaying games, in which she usually plays the rogue. This probably says something about her personality better left unexplored. Her family includes her husband (a long-suffering man willing to let ideas bounce off him at speed), four children (also long-suffering and happy to live off macaroni and cheese while Mom writes) and three very needy cats, one of whom is so dumb he frequently runs into walls.
