*A 2019 Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book*

"Listeners will fall under the spell of the prose and narration
and won't wake up until the last word is spoken—and maybe not even then.
Highly recommended."—Erin Entrada Kelly, 2018 Newbery Medalist and New
York Times bestselling author

A dark, twisted, unforgettable fairy tale from
Elana K. Arnold, author of the National Book Award finalist What Girls
Are Made Of

The
rite has existed for as long as anyone can remember: When the king dies, his
son the prince must venture out into the gray lands, slay a fierce dragon, and
rescue a damsel to be his bride. This is the way things have always been.

When
Ama wakes in the arms of Prince Emory, she knows none of this. She has no
memory of what came before she was captured by the dragon or what horrors she
faced in its lair. She knows only this handsome young man, the story he tells
of her rescue, and her destiny of sitting on a throne beside him. It’s all like
a dream, like something from a fairy tale.

As
Ama follows Emory to the kingdom of Harding, however, she discovers that not
all is as it seems. There is more to the legends of the dragons and the damsels
than anyone knows, and the greatest threats may not be behind her, but around
her, now, and closing in.