The aunt pointed north where a few people lived and trees grew thick and prickly green all year, and where the girl could not follow. 'I'm going home,' she said. She kissed Ani's forehead, but her eyes did not leave the purple horizon. 'Don't forget all you have learned. If your mother discovers what I have taught you, she will take it away. I know her.'
While Crown Princess Anidori-Kiladra is growing up, she barely sees her mother. Instead, she is cared for by a mysterious aunt with the most incredible stories and things to teach Ani. But there is no place for anything out of the ordinary in a royal household, and the aunt is forced to leave, Ani is very much alone. Her mother has plans for her and, with nowhere else to go, the young princess has no choice but to obey. Only now does Ani begin to understand the value of her aunt's strange knowledge, and must learn to use it, and her own extraordinary skills, if she wants to survive, and claim what is rightfully hers.
'Hale's writing is beautiful, with a vivid eye for detail' Daily Telegraph
