Street thief Kierse should have known something wasn’t right. Now she’s trapped in a library ― with a monster. She can’t run. She can’t hide. And this man – this being, filled with terrible power and darkness ― is well within his rights to kill her.

By trespassing, Kierse has broken the fragile peace treaty between monsters and humans. But instead of killing her, Graves does the unexpected: he offers her a job. A chance to find out who she really is.

Kierse has always known she’s different. That she can do things a little better, a little faster. And there’s that sense she has when danger is only a breath away. But if the old tales are true, there are worse things in the world than monsters.

Like a threat more ancient than legend. Like Graves. Or like Kierse herself.

Uncover the lost years of Critical Role’s unrelentingly upbeat, undead spellcaster in this original prequel novel to Laudna’s adventures with Bells Hells.

For as long as she can remember, Laudna has had a friend. A mentor. A little voice whispering in her cropped ear, promising that, no matter how monstrous she becomes or how far she wanders, there will always be someone to guide her.

And so, Laudna is content.

But the thought of more―of life, of love, of the magic stirring in her still veins―is unrelenting in its familiarity. More is the dream of a little girl trapped behind the bloodstained walls of Whitestone, and the nightmare of the woman who now stalks the woods outside them. More, Laudna’s little voice reminds her, is dangerous. From Tal’Dorei to Marquet, the world is infested with heroes destined to rid their kingdoms of creatures like Laudna.

The little voice is right, she knows.

But still, she thinks of more. And when she reaches for that dream, what reaches back will change everything.

Written by USA Today bestselling author Cassandra Khaw, Critical Role: Bells Hells―What Doesn’t Break delves into the unexplored years before Laudna joins up with the crew of Bells Hells, following her departure from Whitestone and solo adventures on the road toward Jrusar.