In this Korean mythology inspired sapphic fantasy, a young woman with shadow magic is awakened after a thousand years to heal her nation and her own troubled memory, even as she falls for the sister of a saint she killed in her past life.

‘Yejin Suh weaves together Korean mythology and sweeping fantasy with vibrant creativity’ Sophie Kim, No.1 Sunday Times bestselling author of The God and the Gumiho

According to legend, the Soldier drowned entire kingdoms in darkness. Yet, the Soldier was only a girl, robbed of her will and raised as a weapon for her power-hungry father. When she awakens years later, freedom takes the form of a hidden life and a new name: Shadow.

As war brews and magical dead zones devour the natural world, Shadow is captured and pulled back into court life by her immortal father’s new prodigy, Scarlet, a diabolical woman obsessed with her sister’s murder. A murder Shadow herself committed in a past life.

Shadow’s control over darkness holds the key to restoring the balance of their world, but a serpentine court hides greed, corruption, and her father’s new plot to resurrect his fading magic. If she’s to survive and save her nation, Shadow will have to hide her past and rely on the woman who captured her—even as they unwind the legends that brought them together and face their growing attraction.