This limited deluxe edition is printed with one-of-a-kind etched, gold foil edges, stunning foil on the case, and a striking printed endpaper map!

"The ruthless, remarkable world you’ve been waiting for." —Chloe Gong, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of These Violent Delights

"A twisty, dark academia fantasy . . . I was hooked from the very first page." —Marie Lu, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Skyhunter

In a world where the wealthy and powerful buy and swap bodies like clothes, an impoverished girl faces an impossible choice: become an assassin for the enchanted elite or watch her decaying body draw its last breath. For fans of Leigh Bardugo, Brandon Sanderson, Lev Grossman, and R.F. Kuang.

Anabelle Gage is trapped in a male body, and it’s rotting from the inside out. But Ana can’t afford to escape her tattered form, even as the wealthiest in Caimor buy and discard expensive designer bodies without a thought. When she fails the entrance exam to the prestigious Paragon Academy, her last hope of earning a new body implodes. Now without options, Ana must use her illusion magic to try to steal a second chance at life.

But Ana is caught by none other than the headmaster of Paragon Academy, who poses a brutal ultimatum: face execution for her crime or become a mercenary at his command. Revolt brews in Caimor's smog-choked underworld, and the wealthy and powerful will stop at nothing to take down the rebels and the infamous dark witch at their helm, the Black Wraith.

With no choice but to accept, Ana will steal, fight, and kill her way to salvation. But her survival depends on a dangerous band of renegades: an impulsive assassin, a brooding bombmaker, and an alluring exile who might just spell her ruin. As Ana is drawn into a tangled web of secrets, the line between villain and hero shatters—and Ana must decide which side is worth dying for.