Lena is a healer-in-training, desperate to master her magical Skill. If she can heal her twin sister’s illness, maybe she’ll finally earn the love her mother has always withheld. Above her looms the Danesga, the royal training school reserved for nobles… or the rare “Chosen,” commoners elevated for the sheer power of their magical Skill. She can’t afford to dream of such chances. Yet when Lena stumbles upon a secret the nobility would kill to protect and crosses paths with a mysterious stranger who questions her very identity, her life starts to spin out of control. She must decide how far she is willing to go and who she will trust, to gain the strength she’s spent her life craving.

Az has lived for centuries with the weight of one catastrophic choice that twisted him into a weapon he despises. Jaded and bitter, he’s watched countless nobles ignore his warnings, all too eager to chase power no matter the cost. When he meets Lena, he recognizes the truth of what she could become - his one chance to break free of his cursed fate. But the longer he schemes, the more dangerous his plan becomes, because the weapon he intended to wield against destiny is the one person he is in danger of loving.

As their fates entwine, a spreading darkness threatens the realm. To stop it, Lena and Az must confront their greatest fears and decide if the love between them is worth the sacrifice it demands.