The Talon and the Flame

By: Terry Mancour

Narrated by: Marian Hussey

Time is running out!

Dara of Westwood, known as the Hawkmaiden, has always been caught between two worlds. Born to a humble clan of woodsmen, her unexpected magical talents had seen her apprenticed to Minalan the Spellmonger, the greatest wizard in the world, to fight for years against the goblin invasion that threatened all of humanity. She had been a war hero before her first kiss, riding giant hawks into battle in defense of her people.

But the war is over, now, and Dara finds herself ennobled, wealthy, respected, admired... and completely alone. Her comrades, friends, and fellow apprentices are settling down to enjoy their hard-won peace, but Dara has few prospects for happiness now that the war is done. Her command over the other Sky Riders is in jeopardy as missions dry up, and she discovers she lacks much purpose in this new world. The sacred Flame her family adores beckons her, promising simple homelife and domestic happiness... but she knows no life without her sword Talon in her hand. While her friends dream of love and marriage, Dara's nights are filled with horrific nightmares about her violent past.

Then the Goddess of Fire, Briga, takes an interest in her love life, and everything changes. Charged by the goddess to rediscover her youthful passions after a lifetime of military service, Dara embarks on a quest to fill the lonely place in her heart... only to be distracted by a new danger lurking in the hills near her home. Some insidious force is kidnapping the poor peasant children and inflicting them with a horrible curse, while raising an army of undead, and no one but Dara seems to care to stop it.

Supported by her friends Laretha and Alurra, Dara considers the few motley suitors who may have an interest in her—her childhood friend Sir Festaran, her former suitor Gareth, the roguish mage Daro—and she even flirts with the handsome young baron of Taravanal. But it's hard to take romance seriously when some dark, necromantic force is rising and preying on the innocent so close to home, a power so terrifying it's even scaring the hill bandits away.

Dara has to make a decision: does she put aside her sword and her vocation as a magical guardian and embrace her passion, or does she eschew the Flame her people hold sacred and devote her life to defending the innocent against powers only she can confront? While peacetime brings hope and prosperity to others, Dara is torn between the allure of the Talon... or the Flame!

©2025 Terry Mancour (P)2025 Podium Audio

Great side story!

Being a fanboy of Terry Mancours Spellmonger series, this is yet another great story in his very personal style of storytelling!

Awesome Story

Dara has always been one of my faves and this story was very entertaining. As always, awaiting to see what comes next for the Hawk maiden

The fire!

A great addition to the spell-mongers world! Pulls from older parts of the story as well as newer parts.
My only regret about buying this book is that the book is finished.

Whole novels featuring side characters…

I love everything Terry Mancour puts to paper but it irks me when authors detour and write books that do not move along the main narrative. I only listened to this story because of loyalty to the series. It took me a long time to get into the story because Dara was so whinny in this book! She had 3 Goddesses actively working in her life and she spent most of the book whining and complaining about her love life and her history with Garrath and Fes. In the end the story turned out good but I truly hope the next novel is about Minalin.

Unexpected

Not at all what I thought would happen but every bit as epic as what we expect from this series