This is the gut of my query letter, much condensed from earlier versions. Not included are the introductory paragraph directed to specific agent and the closing paragraph.
The Isle of Alesia and its legendary Gardens of Almhain are no more. Of the entire, magically blessed race, only three survive the slaughter. Isidora Fiannan, daughter of the late Lord and Lady of Alesia, is also the last living priestess of the Goddess. Accompanied by her family’s lifelong servant and a mute boy, she flees to the God-centered Calabrian peninsula on a single-minded mission to fulfill her mother’s last request. She will risk all to reach Tanalon, mightiest of the peninsula’s four kingdoms, and record the fall of Alesia at its renowned academy.
Arturo Bellamont—better known as Black Bellamont, the Assassin des Viana—is an unlikely escort for our refugees. An infamous courtier and former champion of Tanalon’s king, when Arturo and his partner come across the Alesians they make a choice that will alter the course of their lives. For unbeknownst to them, the very catalyst of Alesia’s ruin hangs docilely from Isidora’s neck: an amulet of indeterminate origins harboring a power to remake the world. Someone has discovered not only its purpose but also its keeper, and the enemy will stop at nothing to possess both.
