A monster hunter who secretly runs a sanctuary for the very creatures she pursues must form an unlikely alliance with a sorcerer in this rich and moving novel from the USA Today bestselling author of The Keeper of Magical Things.

When villagers in the Crownless Kingdom find themselves beset by wicked creatures, they hire Meixin the monster hunter and her trusty hound to rid them of the beasts. What they don’t know is this: Meixin rescues as many monsters as she kills—some of them are just misunderstood—and brings them home to a hidden island sanctuary where they can live in peace. And where Meixin, too, can hide away from prying eyes and keep her biggest secret, the one that explains why she understands all too well what it is to be called a monster.

Faran the Green is an upstart sorcerer with something to prove. When a magical reward is offered to anyone who can find what is said to be the last dragon in the Kingdom, he decides his best chance at winning it means seeking out the services of a reclusive yet renowned monster hunter: Meixin.

At first, Meixin wants to refuse the charmingly earnest sorcerer, until she realizes that she can use Faran to find the dragon for her own purposes. As their partnership deepens into something more, she wonders if she has finally found someone who might accept her for who—and what—she really is. But when their hunt threatens to expose her sanctuary and her secrets, she must choose a side—man or monster—in this captivating, poignant, and tenderly hopeful fantasy about finding acceptance and belonging in a world built to keep people apart.