On Dajahim, magic is awarded to those who earn it—who entertain and please the stars. Nova Tershetta was lucky enough to have her prayers answered, and she is now the first person in her known blood-line to possess magic. But all things come with a cost. While Nova now has centuries of life ahead of her as a magic-wielding shaytan, her family of non-magical eadi she treasures more than anything does not. After spending years researching a way to extend their lives, she is ready to take a different step: Elite Academy, which will afford her shadow magic and a chance at a better future for them all. But the elite forces consist of purist who would rather see of eadi like Nova die than so much as exist in a moment of peace or prosperity.

Can she survive long enough to complete academy and find a way to extend her family’s lives? Or will she, like so many of eadi before her, find that Dajahim is not a safe place for those who don’t fit the mold the purists have crafted?