In a fantasy set in a mythical African nation, young Tarisai, half-human and half-ehru (djinn), has been raised in isolation, trained by tutors preparing her to become one of the eleven members of Prince Ekundayo's council. She barely knows her distant mother, whom she calls The Lady. What she does know is that her mother, through magic, has compelled her to kill The Prince Tarisai is supposed to dedicate her life to serving. As she tries desperately to resist the magic, Tarisai also attempts to unravel her mother's background and the complicated history of their land, which includes grappling with the effects of imperialism and colonialism. Why does her mother want the prince dead? The question leads Tarisai to a discovery that will change her future and that of the empire. Ifeuko excels at world-building in her captivating first novel, creating a place so lush with sensory details readers will feel as though they have fully entered it. The complexity of the characters and their interdependency also serve to bring Tarisai's world to life, and readers will struggle, as she does, with moral choices, love, political alliances, and forbidden knowledge in order to find and fulfill her true destiny. (Age 12 and older)