This audiobook is narrated by an AI Voice.
Māra has spent her life knowing that one day her name might be drawn.

In her village, every young person is entered into a yearly lottery, and the chosen one is sent into the mountain as a sacrifice to the dragon who is said to guard it. When Māra's name is drawn, she expects to die. Instead, she finds herself face-to-face with Kārlis, a quiet young man who is nothing like the monster she was taught to fear.

As Māra slowly adjusts to life in the mountain, she discovers that the truth is far stranger than the village's stories. The dragon has been protecting the people below for generations, aided by mysterious Familiar who live among them unnoticed. The sacrifices sent to the mountain were never killed. Some survived, found refuge in a hidden valley, and built lives beyond the reach of the village that had believed them dead.

But discovering the truth does not erase the life Māra left behind. Her mother is still waiting for her. Her closest friend still believes she is gone. And the village still lives according to a tradition built on fear.

As Māra and Kārlis grow closer, both must confront what it means to protect someone without taking away their freedom, and what it means to be seen for who you really are rather than for the role others have given you.

Returning home may be more dangerous than leaving it was. Yet Māra is no longer the girl whose fate could be decided by a name pulled from a wooden vessel. She has learned the truth, found people who see her clearly, and discovered that belonging is something she can choose.

Sometimes changing an old story begins with one person refusing to disappear inside it.