A Soul for Tsing — Chris A. Jackson

A weapon of power… A paladin's soul… And a girl trying to save her mother… at any cost. In the city of Tsing, life and death balance between the edge of a knife and a courtier's traitorous tongue. A paladin's soul lied bound to an emperor's flawed weapon, tormented to madness and murder. Blood has stained the Imperial palace, and the Emperor lies in the grip of a magical weapon gone mad. His life, sanity, and the empire itself can only by saved if someone can reason with the mad paladin's soul. Only one person has a chance, but Katie has been hardened by a life of cruel lessons. Having lost everything, she faces the guillotine for her crimes. But she is the key to the Emperor's life, and and empire's salvation. If only she would believe it.