Saroya Untalented, a stain on her family's honor. Orphaned and barred from the Guilds, she has nowhere to go when her Talent fails to emerge. Loric Brother-in-law to the king. Thwarted in his ambitions, he'd do anything to usurp the throne. And he finds just the scandal he needs when he unearths Saroya's hidden pedigree. The Kingdom of Veyle Where all power flows to the Talented, and where the Guilds and the Order of Adepts control the destinies of Talented and Untalented alike. When calamity strikes the capital city, with Untalents blamed and on trial, Saroya knows that proving her Talent and parentage means saving more than just her own life. A tangle of lies hides secrets that force Saroya to choose between her future and Veyle's.