Upon surviving a shipwreck, Ayrian finds herself at the mercy of Prince Calix in Stowerling Castle. She is nothing here, she is no one. She is a servant to a man who is ruthless and cunning, and she spends her days plotting of ways to kill him and escape. His powers keep her shackled however, and she must use something other than her strength to help her escape- manipulation. ੈ✩‧₊˚ ੈ✩‧₊˚ ੈ✩‧₊˚ ੈ✩‧₊˚ "Why not just kill me now?" I spit, my arms shackled to the wall on either side, sweat dripping down my spine. "Oh, absolutely not. You came to me, remember? You wanted to be here. This is what you wanted, isn't it?" ੈ✩‧₊˚ ੈ✩‧₊˚ ੈ✩‧₊˚ ੈ✩‧₊˚ Ayrian Ellsmith is willing to risk everything if that means saving her family. The once bustling village of Efrya is decomposing- trees no longer grow, crops wither away, the sun no longer shines, livestock seem to die out of thin air and the entirety of their world is crumbling. Villages and towns beyond Efrya are beginning to feel the death settle in too, and not a soul knows why. Determined to find a cure for this desecration, or perhaps any other habitable civilizations out there, hordes of young men called Finders depart the continent daily. Her two older brothers, Vyn and Feran, disappeared months ago as Finders in search of refuge for their family- now Ayrian is the only one left who may give her mother and father a fighting chance to get away from this decaying land. But no one knows what is out there, beyond the sea. Anyone who has ever ventured off of the continent has never made it back. Ayrian has no choice but to search for safety. She needs to find somewhere she- they can all be safe. And if that were true, the last person she ever needed to encounter was Calix Wregon.