NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - In a fallen kingdom, one girl carries
the key to discovering the secrets of her nation's past--and unleashing
the demons that sleep at its heart. An epic fantasy series inspired by
the mythology and folklore of ancient China.
"Perfect for fans of The Untamed. I loved it!" --Shelley Parker-Chan,
bestselling author of She Who Became the Sun
Once, Lan had a different name. Now she goes by the one the Elantian
colonizers gave her when they invaded her kingdom, killed her mother,
and outlawed her people's magic. She spends her nights as a songgirl in
Haak'gong, a city transformed by the conquerors, and her days scavenging
for what she can find of the past. Anything to understand the strange
mark burned into her arm by her mother in her last act before she died.
The mark is mysterious--an untranslatable Hin character--and no one but
Lan can see it. Until the night a boy appears at her teahouse and saves
her life.
Zen is a practitioner--one of the fabled magicians of the Last Kingdom.
Their magic was rumored to have been drawn from the demons they communed
with. Magic believed to be long lost. Now it must be hidden from the
Elantians at all costs.
When Zen comes across Lan, he recognizes what she is: a practitioner
with a powerful ability hidden in the mark on her arm. He's never seen
anything like it--but he knows that if there are answers, they lie deep
in the pine forests and misty mountains of the Last Kingdom, with an
order of practitioning masters planning to overthrow the Elantian
regime.
Both Lan and Zen have secrets buried deep within--secrets they must hide
from others, and secrets that they themselves have yet to discover. Fate
has connected them, but their destiny remains unwritten. Both hold the
power to liberate their land. And both hold the power to destroy the
world.
Now the battle for the Last Kingdom begins.
