Two New York Times bestselling authors deliver a "fast-paced, action filled fantasy [that] reads like a mix of Game of Thrones and Avatar: The Last Airbender " (BCCB) in the first book of a YA duology featuring ancient magic, warring factions, and a romance rooted in betrayal, now in paperback. House Dragon murdered Darling Seabreak's family. She owes her life to both the power of her Chaos Boon and House Kraken for liberating her from the sewers where she spent her childhood. When her adoptive Kraken father is captured in battle, Darling vows to save him—even if that means killing each and every last member of House Dragon. Talon Goldhoard is the dutiful War Prince for House Dragon, bravely leading the elite troops of his brother, the High Prince Regent. But lately his brother’s erratic rule threatens to undo a hundred years of House Dragon’s hard work. Then Talon is ambushed by a fierce girl who looks exactly like the one his brother has painted obsessively, repeatedly, for years, and he knows she’s the key to everything. Together, Darling and Talon must navigate the treacherous waters of House politics, caught up in the complicated game the High Prince Regent is playing against everyone. Unlikely allies, they’ll have to stop fighting each other long enough to learn to fight together in order to survive the fiery prophecies and ancient blood magic threatening to devastate their entire world. “A gripping fantasy about betrayal, forgiveness, loss, and loyalty amid a magical war.”— Publishers Weekly “The focus on family bonds and support adds realism, while the inclusion of prophetic dreams and visions creates intrigue.” – Kirkus “This fast-paced, action-filled fantasy reads like a mix of Game of Thrones and Avatar: The Last Airbender. ” – BCCB “Political intrigue, magic, and intricate worldbuilding will draw in readers.” – SLJ “Gratton and Ireland are no strangers to new and fantastic settings, and this first of a duology should prove to be as enthralling as all their individual offerings.”— Booklist “An intriguing cast of characters and a diverse, queer normative fantasy realm make this novel stand out.” – Shelf Awareness Justina Ireland is the award winning and New York Times bestselling author of many books, including Dread Nation , Deathless Divide , Rust in the Root and Ophie’s Ghosts. She is also the author of numerous Star Wars books and one of the story architects of Star Wars: The High Republic . You can find her work wherever great books are sold and you can find her on Instagram as @justina.ireland or at her website justinaireland.com. Tessa Gratton is the New York Times bestselling author of adult and YA SFF novels and short stories that have been translated into twenty-two languages, nominated twice for the Otherwise Award, and several have been Junior Library Guild Selections. Her most recent novels include the queer fairy tale Moon Dark Smile , the queer Shakespeare retelling Lady Hotspur , and novels of Star Wars: The High Republic. Though she has lived all over the world, she currently resides at the edge of the Kansas prairie with her wife. Queer, nonbinary, she/he/they. The first time the scion of House Dragon painted the eyeless girl, he was only six years old. She was nothing but a face shaped with finger smears of brown, a darker crooked line that might've been a sad smile, and huge, swirling black holes where her eyes should be. "I don't know how to save her," he said to his mother when he presented the art to her. His mother accepted the soft parchment, doing her best to hide the horror she felt at the red-rimmed, furious eyeholes in her son's painting. Casually, she asked, "Why is she in danger?" "I don't know." "What happened to her eyes?" "Nothing yet." The little boy shrugged. Though the Dragon consort asked a few more delicate questions, he could give her no answers. But he drew the eyeless girl again and again, and told his nurse about her, and his aunt, and his father eventually. That was a mistake, because he was far too old for imaginary friends, his father growled. The consort promised her husband, the Dragon regent, it was only childish play, and their son would grow out of it. Better an imaginary friend, she thought, than the truth she suspected deep in her heart: her son had been gifted with a boon, but it was a prophetic one, and prophecy always, always drove the wielder mad. The people of Pyrlanum would never accept a regent with such a wild boon, and to shield her eldest son, the consort extracted a promise from him to stop talking about the girl, and certainly to stop painting her. He must never paint anything from a dream or vision. It was dangerous. The young scion agreed, thrilled to have such an illicit thing binding him with his mother. And he kept his promise for two entire years, until his mother was murdered. The day she died, the consort and the scion were pruning in their private gar