Neurodivergent Elemental, Roan, doesn't belong in any of the worlds. She boils things, she dreams of death, and she keeps to the shadows whenever she can. But her copper freckles and ashy red curls make her about as subtle as the benyu , the fiery bird of the mythkeepers' stories. On her nineteenth birthday, Roan's village is beguiled by conquering Woodlanders. In an effort to save her people, she throws herself into a reckless blood bargain with Galin, the roguish Woodland general who challenges her heart, complicates her sense of self, and unmasks the true nature of her magic. And he's not the only one who wants to forge her into a weapon.Roan must find her own voice in the darkness of trauma and, like the benyu , rise from the ashes to set her people free.