Mira grows up in Greymere believing poverty is the worst fate waiting for her. Then her mother's illness drives her to contact the powerful father she has never known, and a black-sealed letter carries her straight into the world of House Ravenscar. There she learns that blood can be more dangerous than hunger. Ravenscar is one of Raventhia's great Veiled Houses, a family whose status depends on ancient bargains with the Nocturne Beast. Mira is an illegitimate daughter, an embarrassment, and potentially something far more valuable. A ritual meant to prove her worth awakens a connection no one around her fully understands. A mysterious companion named Soren appears to Mira, a strange presence only she can see, hear, and touch, and he seems to know far more about the Nocturne Beast than he should. He is playful where Ravenscar is rigid, protective where her father is cruel, and determined to push Mira toward a destiny she is not sure she wants. As years pass, Mira learns to survive the contempt of her relatives, the competition for divine favor, and the deadly trials that determine who may cross the mysterious Nocturne Gate. Her father's ambition reaches far beyond family pride, and the truth about the elder gods begins to fracture everything Mira has been taught. To escape being used as another piece in Ravenscar's struggle for power, she must decide what part of the legacy she is willing to claim and what deserves to be destroyed. The deeper she travels into the world behind the veil, the more dangerous one question becomes: did the Nocturne Beast choose House Ravenscar, or has he been waiting for Mira?
Mira grows up in Greymere believing poverty is the worst fate waiting for her. Then her mother's illness drives her to contact the powerful father she has never known, and a black-sealed letter carries her straight into the world of House Ravenscar. There she learns that blood can be more dangero...