A prequel novella to the Eli Monpress series that began with The Spirit Thief , "a romp of a lighthearted fantasy starring an absolutely darling rogue" ( Publishers Weekly ).

Four years before the events of The Spirit Thief, Miranda Lyonette, future nemesis of Eli Monpress, was a young apprentice Spiritualist on the cusp of a promising career. But on the eve of her return from bonding a wind spirit, a night that should have been a celebration, she finds instead that her father has come to take her home. Now, Miranda must choose between her duty to her family and her future at the Spirit Court. But while she's trying to make her parents see reason and avoid an arranged marriage to a man she can't stand, she stumbled across the one spirit who needs her more than any other, a caged ghosthound who doesn't want her help. To save him, Miranda will have to earn the dog's trust, but what she gets in return is a friendship deeper than anything she expected.

Praise for The Spirit Thief

" The Spirit Thief is a delightfully giddy romp of a novel." —Karen Miller, author of The Innocent Mage

"[An] outstanding fantasy debut . . . Fans of Scott Lynch's Lies of Locke Lamora will be thrilled with Eli Monpress." — Booklist (starred review)

"This book was a nice surprise and a complete winner for me . . . A refreshing change from the gritty wave that fantasy seems to riding right now and is a nice throwback to the light classical fantasy . . . I'm hooked on for this series and will be following it eagerly." — Fantasy Book Critic