Sailor Moon meets Cinder in this first entry in a new, richly imagined fantasy series full of romance, adventure and kick-a** heroines, from the author of New York Times bestselling debut Wintersong! Magic flickers. Love flames. Chaos reigns. Magic is forbidden throughout the Morning Realms. Magicians are called abomination, and blamed for the plague of monsters that razed the land twenty years before. Jin Zhara already had enough to worry about-appease her stepmother's cruel whims, looking after her blind younger sister, and keeping her own magical gifts under control-without having to deal with rumours of monsters re-emerging in the marsh. But when a chance encounter with an easily flustered young man named Han brings her into contact with a secret magical liberation organisation called the Guardians of Dawn, Zhara realises there may be more to these rumours than she thought. A mysterious plague is corrupting the magicians of Zanhei and transforming them into monsters, and the Guardians of Dawn believe a demon is responsible. In order to restore harmony and bring peace to the world, Zhara must discover the elemental warrior within, lest the balance between order and chaos is lost forever.

Six months after the end of Wintersong, Liesl is working toward furthering both her brother's and her own musical careers. Although she is determined to look forward and not behind, life in the world above is not as easy as Liesl had hoped. Her younger brother Josef is cold, distant, and withdrawn, while Liesl can't forget the austere young man she left beneath the earth, and the music he inspired in her. When troubling signs arise that the barrier between worlds is crumbling, Liesl must return to the Underground to unravel the mystery of life, death, and the Goblin King-who he was, who he is, and who he will be. What will it take to break the old laws once and for all? What is the true meaning of sacrifice when the fate of the world-or the ones Liesl loves-is in her hands?

All her life, Liesl has heard tales of the beautiful, dangerous Goblin King. They've enraptured her spirit and inspired her musical compositions. Now eighteen, Liesl can't help but feel that her musical dreams and childhood fantasies are slipping away.But when her sister is taken by the Goblin King, Liesl must journey to the Underground to save her. Drawn to the strange, captivating world she finds-and the mysterious man who rules it-she soon faces an impossible decision. With time and the old laws working against her, Liesl must discover who she truly is before her fate is sealed.