For the Lovely, there are two defining days in life, three if they’re fortunate. The first is at birth, when the one with whom they shared a womb forever joins the dead. The second is in their sixth year, when they touch their first stone and connect with the Realm.

Olean knows this all too well, having accessed the Realm for years, reading people, seeing and feeling their thoughts and actions as if they were her own. Now that she’s of age and possesses a higher stone ability, her third defining day has come—a chance to join the prestigious Queen’s Garden.

But this change isn’t the only one she’ll face.

When the queen arrives for a test, Olean learns not all truths are so clearly seen. A voice informs her of the recent castle murders and urges her to link her mind with Croft’s—a royal attendant who may know more than most—to find answers that could save other lives, quite possibly her own.

Olean must choose between her desired path to a revered position or one that risks it all, filled with deception to the Crown and to Croft, going against everything she’s ever known.