Numina Trilogy Books in Order

The Numina Trilogy is one of Holmberg's darker fantasy series. It opens with Sandis, a young woman trapped by a cruel master who uses her as a vessel for ancient spirits called numina. When one of those beings is summoned into her body, Sandis becomes a weapon whether she wants to or not. That setup gives the trilogy its central pressure right away: even her own body is not entirely her own, and freedom is never as simple as running.

In Smoke & Summons, Sandis escapes into a city full of smoke, corruption, and old power. There she crosses paths with Rone, a thief who has his own sharp edges and a device that makes him immortal for one minute each day. He is useful, secretive, and not always easy to trust, which makes him a very good fit for a series built on unstable alliances. Their partnership carries a lot of the story's energy, because both characters are trying to survive without fully showing what they have to lose.

The later books, Myths and Mortals and Siege and Sacrifice, widen the story without losing that emotional center. Sandis's past, Rone's sacrifices, the ambitions of her former master Kazen, and the looming threat of the ancient beast Kolosos all start pressing in at once. The trilogy keeps revealing older layers of magic and history, including hidden lore and long-buried dangers, but it never stops being about Sandis's need for choice, safety, and self-possession.

This is not the softest corner of Holmberg's bibliography. The magic has harder edges here. Hosting a numen can kill someone. Ancient beings are not decorative. Power leaves marks on bodies and loyalties alike, and the danger often feels physical, immediate, and ugly in a way her cozier series do not. Even the romance has to move through fear, mistrust, and survival before it can become anything stable.

If Whimbrel House is about making a home, Numina is about trying to keep your soul long enough to choose one. It is a series of flight, pursuit, betrayal, and uneasy hope, with just enough tenderness to make the rougher moments land even harder.