Soul and Splinter (Soulquake, 2)

A king is dead. The land is breaking. War is coming.

King Ronin has fallen―and Elsinor is unraveling. The ruthless Arch Legion tightens its grip as cities starve and earthquakes tear across the continent.

Hidden beneath the sea, Evella and the Soulmagi have waited for months for the world above to tear itself apart. But hiding cannot last forever. Supplies are failing. Their sanctuary is crumbling. And to survive, they must surface―into a realm where trust is a liability and power is claimed by force.

In Tusinda, nations teeter on the brink of civil war, each vying for dominion over Elsinor, each willing to burn the other to secure it. As Evella and her allies try to unite them against the Arch Legion, a dangerous political fracture pulls them in deeper, one wrong move from bloodshed.

Yet the most dangerous fractures lie closer to Evella’s heart.

Reil is fighting his way back into her life, determined not to lose her again. Arek, once her anchor, is slipping further from her grasp. Caught between the two great loves of her life, Evella has all but abandoned Soulmagic, fearing the destruction she might unleash if she loses control again.

When diplomacy collapses and war ignites, Evella must fight a battle she never wanted. What rises in her fury is something vast and unforgiving―a force capable of saving Elsinor at last.

Or destroying her along with it.

Perfect for fans of epic fantasy, romantic fantasy, magic-wielding heroines, and world-ending stakes.

M.E. Shotwell is the author of dark fantasy and horror for adults and teens. Several of her short stories have been published, including “A Sailor’s Curse,” featured as the finale in Under the Full Moon’s Light Anthology (Owl Hollow Press, 2018). Her debut Adult Fantasy novel Mist and Divide, the first in the Soulquake series, releases Fall 2025 (City Owl Press). She loves incorporating her science and nature background into her fiction. When adulting, she’s a wife to husband Matt and mother to three children. She currently resides near Nashville.