Princess Selunaya Vesperi is beautiful, cynical, and deadly. She is also in desperate peril.
Now that her father has passed away, her impeccable lineage has caught the attention of many would-be suitors. Wary of the threat she presents to the labyrinthine politics of Underside, the newly appointed High Priest of Vesper decrees that Selunaya must marry one of the nobles of his choosing.
If she does not, he will add her to his collection of living statues.
Selunaya has other ideas.
Isedar Matine is the most promising duelist of the House of Dawn. At seventeen, his embarrassingly delicate features underscore the traits his matriarchal homeland values most in its young men: innocence, integrity, and physical reserve.
Selunaya will go to any length to have him.