"Richly woven with magic, intrigue, and romance. Prepare to be utterly enchanted."--Elizabeth Lim, New York Times bestselling author of Six Crimson Cranes

Jade Aguilar can stitch beauty and brilliance into existence--unravel life itself. Like her mother, she's a thread speaker in the queendom of Mérecal, where their rare gift can be used only in service of the Crown. When her mother, the master thread speaker, goes missing amid a spree of unusual deaths, the queen orders Jade to find her or be conscripted into a life of servitude.
Lukas Keller, a boy with a heart as bright as the universe, is desperate to save his family from the clutches of poverty. He gets caught up with a vicious gang and is forced to do the one thing he swore he would never do: seek the help of a thread speaker.
Jade and Lukas form a mistrustful alliance. As Mérecal descends into chaos, it's clear there is something monstrous on the hunt. Jade and Lukas cling to each other for survival--and perhaps . . . something more.
In her spellbinding debut, Ruby Martinez weaves a wildly romantic, heart-pounding mystery set against the backdrop of Mexican and German lore.