Let''s get one thing straight - Vanja Schmidt wasn''t trying to start a cult.
A scrappy former maid and jewel thief must outwit gods, injustice, and her own past in this sequel to Little Thieves by Margaret Owen.
After taking down a corrupt margrave, breaking a deadly curse, and finding romance with the vexingly scrupulous junior prefect Emeric Conrad, Vanja had one great mystery left: her long-lost birth family . . . and whether they would welcome a thief. But in her search for an honest trade, she hit trouble and invented a god, the Scarlet Maiden, to scam her way out. Now that lie is growing out of control - especially when Emeric arrives to investigate and the Scarlet Maiden manifests to claim him as a virgin sacrifice.
For his final test to become a prefect, Emeric must determine whether Vanja is guilty of serious fraud or if the Scarlet Maiden - and her claim to him - is genuine. Meanwhile, Vanja is chasing an alternative sacrifice tha
