For the past three years Kestra has felt free. She's been free from the political intrigue and the watching. She's been able to sing and run and she is stronger now than she's ever been.
Sent to the Lava Fields as she narrowly escaped a kidnapping attempt three years ago, Kestra is now riding in a security carriage having been summoned back by her father who serves as the chief counsel for the all-powerful Lord Endrick. She's one hour away from the inn and a night's rest when in the space of a moment the entire garrison guarding her is dead. Who knew she was on this journey? Is it the Banished who kidnapped her three years ago? Or could it be the Coracks known for their precision attacks.
Kestra is about to find out. She's about to be kidnapped and used again as she is forced to travel on with her attackers appearing to be her guard. They need her to find the Olden Blade and they suspects she knows where to find it.
Kestra knows herself and knows her powers. She is not afraid of these attackers. It's only a matter of time before she is able to get a weapon and she knows who her first target will be, Simon.
Adventure, intrigue, a sizzling vibe between Kestra and Simon, and a young woman who stands strong in herself, looks beyond the threats around her and holds a few powerful secrets of her own.
400 pages 978-1338045376 Ages 12-16
Recommended by: Barb Langridge, abookandahug.com
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Nothing is as it seems in the kingdom of Antora. Kestra Dallisor has spent three years in exile in the Lava Fields, but that won't stop her from being drawn back into her father's palace politics. He's the right hand man of the cruel king, Lord Endrick, which makes Kestra a valuable bargaining chip. A group of rebels knows this all too well -- and they snatch Kestra from her carriage as she reluctantly travels home.
The kidnappers want her to retrieve the lost Olden Blade, the only object that can destroy the immortal king, but Kestra is not the obedient captive they expected. Simon, one of her kidnappers, will have his hands full as Kestra tries to foil their plot, by force, cunning, or any means necessary. As motives shift and secrets emerge, both will have to decide what -- and who -- it is they're fighting for.
Jennifer A. Nielsen introduces us to an unforgettable new heroine in this epic tale of treachery and intrigue, love and deceit.--from the publisher
