Melissa Herold Knihy

The differences between me and the Iyarri were so slight . . . but these similarities brought no kinship; instead the Iyarri treated them as things I'd stolen, things that weren't rightfully mine. Hated, heckled, and reviled, Aurelia has spent six months cloistered inside the Iyarri stronghold of Idura as a living, breathing reminder of her father's sins. Much as she did in the human world, she takes refuge in her art, but when a savage act of cruelty shatters the last piece of her old life, something inside Aurelia breaks, awakening a dangerous new ability in a rush of golden light. Her new powers, left unchecked, threaten to drive her to madness, but she might never get the chance to learn more—there's someone out there who knows what she is and wants her dead.Now, in a world full of blades, magic, and threats on all sides, Aurelia must rely on a traitor to master her newfound powers, stay alive, and reveal the secret behind her place in Iyarri society.

My ascension through blood and tears to become Saanire Aurelia Rior didn't matter—I felt like an imposter walking into the gathering of Rior, like a child playing dress-up with powers I hadn't grown into yet.As autumn fades to bitter winter, Aurelia is running out of time to follow Lucien, Aamon, and the others to the distant northern mountains where the long-lost Rior sanctuary lies hidden. An ethereal beast and dangerous storms bar the way . . . but so does the shard of memory lodged in Aurelia's heart. Reliving her mother's murder, she now sees herself rotting before her own eyes, unable to sleep, unable to focus her riore.When she finally reaches the secluded valley, the truth of why the Rior have stayed hidden for a millennium is worse than anything she could have imagined. Aurelia must use her forbidden blood and the powers that come with it to save those she loves, right ancient wrongs, and close the wound that has plagued Iyarri society since the Night of Bloody Feathers.