Paths of the Shadow (Quest of the Messenger Book 1‪)‬

Meet Nicholas Swift, a determined bachelor and a skeptical historian. His work is made of dispelling myths and shedding light on the solid body of fact. When he is told by the residents of a small village about a strange phenomenon that can be observed in the area, he dismisses these rumors as old wives' tales. Sooner than he knows, however, he is drawn into an adventure he neither expected nor wished for as he discovers a magical link between our world and another quite unlike it.

Nicholas finds himself in a land full of loyalty and courage, but also blood thirst and danger. He meets a king who yearns for an heir, a man who hides a dark secret, and a woman who believes she has what it takes to keep her beloved land safe, but threatens countless lives in the process. In the midst of it all, Nicholas is left to figure out the purpose of his unique fate.