BOOK ONE IN THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING SERIES One of Time Magazines 100 Best Fantasy and 100 Best YA Books of All Time People’s Choice Award winner Bustle’s Best Young Adult Book

This novel is a harrowing, haunting reminder of what it means to be human and how hope might be kindled in the midst of oppression and fear. The Washington Post

A gorgeous, collectable look for thisbeloved and bestselling fantasy series that glows, burns, and smolders. (Huffington Post).The deluxe paperback editions each feature tip-ins with exclusive character art!

Laia is a slave.Elias is a soldier.Neither is free.

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.

It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empires impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. Theyve seen what happens to those who do.

But when Laias brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empires greatest military academy.

There, Laia meets Elias, the schools finest soldierand secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny hes being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwinedand that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR FROM The Wall Street JournalBuzzfeedLA Weekly Bustle Paste Magazine Indigo Suspense Magazine The New York Public Library Popsugar Hypable