Showing When Secrets Bloom by Patricia Furstenberg

Transylvania, 1463. A land of fortress cities, whispered heresies, and shadows cast by Vlad Dracula (the man, not the vampire.)

Kate Webber, a 28-year-old Saxon healer, has always lived between reverence and suspicion. Her gift with herbs and midwifery makes her indispensable - and dangerous - in Kronstadt (today Brașov) , a medieval city where fear rules and women are silenced. Her marriage to the powerful, secretive Magyar promised safety, but instead bound her voice.

One bitter Advent night, Kate breaks her husband’s command and saves a dying mother and child. Her defiance sparks awe in some, fury in others. The jealous town physician seizes his chance to destroy her. Rumors flare. A mob gathers. And Kate’s only ally is Iancu - her childhood friend turned militia captain - whose return stirs memories of freedom, laughter and forbidden longing.

Elsewhere in the city, Moise, a Jewish apprentice at the printing press, witnesses a cloaked Shaman haunting the square. When a rare manuscript vanishes, Moise discovers a dangerous secret: a book men will kill for. His search entwines his fate with Kate’s - until both stand accused in a city hungry for scapegoats.

On the day of execution, Kate chooses defiance again. She saves a child. Moise is framed. And in the shadows of fortress walls, a legacy map begins to reveal itself - a secret hidden not in books, but in the hearts of those who guard them.