Author: Cassandra Rose Clarke

Cassandra Rose Clarke creates fantasy and science fiction where sweeping imagined worlds test loyalty through costly bargains. The Beholden begins when orphaned sisters Celestia and Izara use forbidden magic to petition the river goddess, the Lady of the Seraphine, for a wealthy husband who can save their rainforest estate. The favor leaves them owing a divine debt. Five years later, the Lady of the Seraphine sends them across an empire threatened by the Decay. Their passage through rainforest, desert, and frozen country examines sisterhood, obligation, and promises made under pressure. Erewhon Books released The Beholden in 2022. Clarke’s earlier books include The Assassin’s Curse, The Mad Scientist’s Daughter, Star’s End, and Halo: Battle Born, spanning fantasy, science fiction, and franchise storytelling. The University of Texas at Austin awarded her a creative-writing master’s degree. A divine quest gives the novel its geographical scale, while the sisters’ different temperaments make every consequence intimate and emotionally precise.