Feast of Souls
Celia S. Friedman
 In this fantasy, the first of a new trilogy, the world's magic comes at a terrible cost: a witch's own finite life force, which drains away with each spell. The sole exceptions are the nearly immortal Magisters, who secretly tap a more murderous fuel for their power. No woman has ever found its source, until young Kamala, hardened by life as a child whore, insists on an apprenticeship and secretly becomes an unheard-of female Magister. Meanwhile, Prince Andovan, third son of the avaricious King Danton, is expiring from the baffling Wasting disease, which can only be caused by a Magister. When the enraged king banishes his right-hand Magister, the mysterious and sinister Kostas takes his place, much to the dismay of Andovan's mother, Queen Gwenofar. As an ancient, monstrous power stirs and threatens to drag the world toward a dark age, Kamala and Andovan find their fates entwined.