As a mute and a low-born servant, sixteen-year-old Celia gets no say in how she spends her days, forced to play her violin for the same king that made her an orphan, and for his bloodthirsty court. If the high caste paid her any attention, they'd realize she has plenty to say, and it all points to revenge. She has shapeshifting magic, and she intends to use it to become a participant in the next tournament to select the king's new bride. Although his previous wives died one by one over the years in suspicious circumstances, she's not deterred. She only needs to get close to the king to kill him. But the king's younger, kindhearted brother, an enigma who doesn't belong in his own home, is set on disrupting her plans. He believes there's still good in the king, locked away, only needing to be set free. Lia is urged to join him and others who claim the threat to them all is bigger than she once thought, and more destructive than she could have imagined. There's another shapeshifter who has magic of her own, and she'll stop at nothing to get what she wants-even if that means rising from the dead. As Celia struggles with newfound magical capabilities, and hostilities between kingdoms rise, Celia must choose between what she wants and what is asked of her in this coming-of-age fantasy that explores the importance of being heard, living through loss, and exploring one's own strength to achieve what seems to be impossible.