"The ruthless, remarkable world you’ve been waiting for." —Chloe Gong, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of These Violent Delights

"A twisty, dark academia fantasy . . . I was hooked from the very first page." —Marie Lu, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Skyhunter

This limited deluxe edition is printed with stained edges!

A desperate girl navigating a cutthroat magical academy faces a choice between life and death: become an assassin for the enchanted elite or else her decaying body will draw its last breath. For fans of Leigh Bardugo, Brandon Sanderson, Lev Grossman, and R.F. Kuang.

Anabelle Gage is trapped in a boy’s body, and it’s rotting from the inside out. In the nation of Caimor, the wealthy buy and swap fabricated bodies like clothes, but Ana doesn't have the money to escape her grey, withering form. Her last hope—securing a spot at the prestigious Paragon Academy—comes crashing down when Ana fails the entrance exam.

As a last resort, she puts her illusion magic to the task of stealing a healthy body. But when Ana is caught by the Paragon headmaster, he offers her a choice: die for her crime or become a mercenary at his command charged with crushing the resistance fighters trying to topple the magical elite. Desperate, Ana accepts.

But revolt brews in Caimor's smog-choked underworld, and at its helm is the Black Wraith, the most infamous outlaw mage in history. As Ana steals, fights, and kills, her survival will depend on a lethal band of renegades: an assassin, a bombmaker, and a blood-soaked exile who might just be the death of her. In this debut trilogy, secrets upend Ana's idea of who the heroes of her story are—and which side is worth saving.