Choose: a quick death or slow poison Locked deep in the castle's dungeon, Yelena knows shell never be free again. The laws in Ixia are strict, and murderers must be executed, no matter the reason. But just as shes resigned to her fate, shes offered an extraordinary reprieve to be the food taster for the Commander of Ixia. As the food taster, Yelena will eat the best meals, have a room in the castle, and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander. To make matters worse Valek, the chief of security, deliberately feeds her Butterflys Dust a deadly poison. Only by appearing for her daily antidote can she prevent an agonising death. As Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she cant control. Her life is under threat again, and in order to survive, she must unravel the secrets behind the past shes been running from.

 

 

This book is part of a book series called Chronicles Of Ixia .

This book has been graded for interest at 12-18 years.

This book is aimed at Young Adult readers. The term Young Adult (YA) is used for books which have the following characteristics: (1) aimed at ages 12-18 years, US grades 7-12, UK school years 8-15, (2) around 50-75k words long, (3) main character is aged 12-18 years, (4) topics include self-reflection, internal conflict vs external, analyzing life and its meaning, (5) point of view is often in the first person, and (6) swearing, violence, romance and sexuality are allowed. This book was published in 2023 by HarperCollins Publishers .

Maria V. Snyder has been writing since 1995 and has published numerous articles in magazines and newspapers. She lives with her family in Pennsylvania.