Witches & Flames. Witches & Flames, #1

Mercy was Maren Thornwood's crime. In the shadow of the 1692 Appalachian Mountains, Maren Thornwood, a young witch, makes a choice that will doom her: she saves the life of an injured hunter. Nathaniel Crane knows the penalty for consorting with witches. Yet the woman who healed him with gentle hands has shown him a truth his Order refuses to name: that love can exist where hatred demands only death.
Their stolen moments burn in the firelight. Wooden birds carved as promises. A bond forged in defiance of every law. But Captain O'Malley has been watching. Waiting. The execution ground is ready: four posts arranged in ancient geometry. Four lives meant to shatter protections older than memory itself. The ritual he has planned will not end the war; it will awaken something far worse. She should have let him die.
He should have walked away. They chose mercy instead. Witches & Flames is a Gothic historical epic where love is treason, mercy is betrayal, and ancient evil wears the mask of righteousness. This is a story of tragic love, brutal consequences, and a war that will not be kind to those who choose compassion. Book One of the Witches & Flames series. For readers who crave atmospheric horror, doomed romance, and stories where the stakes are brutal and the choices impossible. Warning: This is not a happy-ever-after book.
The magic is grounded in folklore magic and blood magic. The story is set in an alternate historical timeline, even though much material from true history has been used to create this book.