For twenty-one years, Zarielle has trained to become the perfect temple daughter-a poised, obedient prot g ready to wield power for Draethera's sacred order of the Scaled Way. Across the city's crumbling districts, her twin sister, Sorelle, has carved out a different life: a fierce, untamed thief who answers to no one.
They've lived as strangers, unaware of their shared blood-until dragons return to Draethera, their arrival igniting powers the sisters never knew they possessed.
Zari can command the winds, the temple's chosen heir to control and order. Relle's fire is raw, wild, and utterly unrestrained, threatening to burn through the fragile balance of the city.
But Draethera is teetering on the edge of collapse. Dragon-touched children are being hunted, an ancient darkness stirs beneath the city's streets, the temple's grip on power is slipping. And the sisters are forced onto opposing paths: one to preserve what remains, the other to tear it all down.
Yet, in a city where magic remembers the lies of the past, even the most carefully laid plans can crumble. And when powers older than empires awaken, the question isn't who will claim the crown-but whether the city will survive the coming storm.
Some winds cannot be controlled.
Some fires cannot be quenched. And some destinies were never meant to be divided.