NATIONAL BESTSELLER A sharp-tongued folklorist must pair up with her academic rival to solve their mentors murder in this lush and enthralling sapphic fantasy romance from the New York Times bestselling author of A Far Wilder Magic. Clever, emotional, and gorgeousat its core, this is a story about the healing capacity of love. Ava Reid, author of Juniper & ThornLorelei Kaskel, a folklorist with a quick temper and an even quicker wit, is on an expedition with six eccentric nobles in search of a fabled spring. The magical spring promises untold power, which the king wants to harness in order to secure his reign over the embattled country of Brunnestaad. Lorelei is determined to use this opportunity to prove herself and make her wildest, most impossible dream come true: to become a naturalist, able to travel freely to lands shes only read about. The expedition gets off to a harrowing start when its leaderLoreleis beloved mentoris murdered in her quarters aboard their ship. The suspects are the five remaining expedition mates, each with their own motive. The only person Lorelei knows must be innocent is her longtime academic rival, the insufferably gallant and maddeningly beautiful Sylvia von Wolff. Now in charge of the expedition, Lorelei must find the spring before the murderer strikes againand a coup begins in earnest. But there are other dangers lurking in the dark: forests that rearrange themselves at night, rivers with slumbering dragons hiding beneath the water, and shapeshifting beasts out for blood. As Lorelei and Sylvia grudgingly work together to uncover the truthand resist their growing feelings for each otherthey discover that their leader had secrets of her own. Secrets that make Lorelei question whether justice is worth pursuing, and if this kingdom is worth saving at all.
