by S. Jae-Jones
First published 2024
Li Ami has always lived on the margins. The daughter of a disgraced imperial magician, she tends to her mentally ill father in exile at the edge of the Morning Realms. She trusts books more than people and finds solace in translation work. When her father steals a branch from the monastery's sacred tree and faces imprisonment, Ami makes a desperate bargain. She offers herself to the Beast who lives in a nearby castle, agreeing to translate forbidden magical texts in exchange for her father's freedom. The Beast needs her skills to find a cure for the blight destroying the land's harvests. Meanwhile, Jin Zhara discovers her role as the Guardian of Fire may not be enough. She defeated one demon lord, but the Mother of Ten Thousand Demons threatens to unleash chaos across the realms. Undead creatures ravage the countryside while magical corruption spreads. Zhara must locate the other Guardians of Dawn, especially the Guardian of Wood who controls life and death. As the Pillar blooms and apocalyptic signs multiply, Ami and Zhara's paths converge. They must reach the Root of the World to seal a demon portal before the Morning Realms fall to darkness.
Genres: adventure, fantasy, dark-fantasy, epic-fantasy
Vibes: dark, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: chosen-one, found-family
Setting: Morning Realms, Root of the World
Period: Apocalyptic
359 pages · Kindle Edition · Wednesday Books