Ombria in Shadow - Patricia A. Mckillip

From the Nebula-nominated author of The Tower at Stony Wood comes the tale of an enchanted time and place: Ombria--a city that holds its breath as a straw-haired apparition sees its dreams--and nightmares--take shape in the drawings of a bastard-heir. nWhen Ombria's prince, Royce Greve, breathes his last--in palace rooms high above the city--he leaves his young son and mistress at the mercy of his ancient and powerful great-aunt, Domina Pearl. Meanwhile, in a dreamlike underworld peopled by Ombria's ghosts, a sorceress weaves her spells and brews her potions, never revealing her real face--or true heart.

And somewhere in between, the struggle to rule the whole of Ombria--both its light and shadows--will rest in the hands of those whose fractured lives align like the lost pieces of a magical puzzle....