Sacrifices , the third book in the Shadow Grail series by the New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill The students of Oakhurst Academy believe they have triumphed over the Shadow Knights. But Spirit, Burke, Muirin, Loch, and Addie know better. Under the guise of a company called Breakthrough Adventure Systems, the Shadow Knights have actually taken over the campus. The new regime is brutal, designed to turn the students into soldiers wielding both weapons and magic. Anyone who protests disappears. Desperate, the group decides that Muirin should go undercover to spy on Breakthrough. But Muirin's act is a little too good, and Spirit begins to fear that her friend's loyalties might have truly changed. Surrounded by enemies and friends who suddenly seem like strangers, Spirit has decide who can--and cannot--be trusted. “Lackey and Edghill know how to spin a yarn… Fast-paced action… There's also a touch of romance, and readers who appreciate everything from X-Men to Harry Potter will be begging for the sequel.” ― Booklist on Legacies “A really good read. The authors do a great job of juxtaposing a scary theme and the ordinary angst of adolescents. They also do a nice job with the metaphor of magical gifts as means of self-actualization. Legacies has enough action for reluctant readers, and enough character development for teens to see themselves in this group of friends. The book's fans are sure to eagerly await Spirit's discovery of her mage gift and further confrontations with the forces of evil.” ― School Library Journal on Legacies “The authors expertly balance a heady mixture of mystery and teenage romance.” ― RT Book Reviews on Legacies MERCEDES LACKEY is the author of the Valdemar novels. She has collaborated with Andre Norton on the Elvenbane series and with James Mallory on the bestselling Obsidian Trilogy. She lives with her husband in Oklahoma. ROSEMARY EDGHILL is a prolific writer in several genres, under her own name and various pseudonyms. She lives in Baltimore, Maryland, with several cats and several Cavalier King Charles spaniels, which she shows in obedience competitions. Shadow Grail #3: Sacrifices By Mercedes Lackey Tor Teen Copyright © 2013 Mercedes Lackey All right reserved. ISBN: 9780765328250 ONE   Guinevere, High Queen, sat like a statue on the bare back of one of the famous white horses that had been her dowry on the day she had wed Arthur. Only the knights of the Table had ever been permitted to ride them, for they were bred to carry kings. But there were no more than a handful of Arthur’s knights left now. When Arthur fell at Camlann—and it seemed to all as if the day were lost—it had been Guinevere who had taken command of his army—and they had been eager to have someone, anyone, lead them. That, Mordred had not expected—that she, of all people, would appear on the battlefield in borrowed armor at the head of a vast army. From the moment Arthur had sent her into exile, she had been preparing for this day. But she had come too late to save her husband and lord. Camelot had fallen. She had given her dying husband into the care of the Lady of the Lake. She had taken his sword from his death-cold fingers. And she had followed the fleeing Mordred and his army with all her host. Mordred had broken Arthur’s army at Camlann, and the years of fighting that had preceded it had stripped Britain of knights and fighting men. But Guinevere’s army did not ride clad in mail and wearing steel. It was made up of Druids and monks, nuns and sorceresses—the Old Ways and the New Faith coming together to oppose an enemy who would destroy all that was. And beside Guinevere rode The Merlin. Nimue had been the first of Mordred’s allies to desert him, and with the breaking of the spell she had put upon him, The Merlin was freed. When he had learned of Arthur’s death, his wrath had been terrible to see. Across all of Britain the two armies rode, one pursuing, one fleeing. And slowly, one by one, Mordred’s allies and vassals deserted him. Arthur had died in the springtide. It was autumn when Mordred was brought to bay. This was the end. The trees were leafless, now, and the wind was cold. Behind Guinevere stood her husband’s army and her own, each man and woman waiting with a deadly implacable patience to witness the end of the man who had destroyed everything they had worked so long to build. Before her stood the ancient oak tree that Mordred had once meant to be The Merlin’s eternal tomb. She would gladly have slain the black snake who destroyed her happiness and her husband’s kingdom, but Mordred was so imbued with the powers of Death Itself he could not die. No earthly weapon could slay him—but he could be bound, as he had intended The Merlin to be bound. And since his own magics had prepared the ancient oak, it was all the more fitting that the tree be the vessel to hold him.… Guinevere heard muffled shouting