Nora knows three things: she is a servant, her parents are dead, and she
lives in the kitchen house with her adoptive family. But her world is
torn apart when she discovers that her birth father has always been
right there, living in the house she serves. This discovery leads Nora
to more questions. Why was she thrown in an ash-covered room for asking
about her father? Why is a silver-bladed knife the only inheritance from
her birth mother? Why is magic forbidden in her household-and throughout
the province of the Runes? The answers may not be the ones Nora hoped
for, as they threaten a possible romance and her relationship with the
adoptive family she loves. With the announcement of a royal ball, Nora
must decide what she is willing to give up in order to claim her stolen
birthright, and whether this new life is worth losing her family-and
herself.