Deka lives a kingdom called Otera where girls and women are treated like chattel and subjected to a purity test during puberty that will determine if they are pure-bred or demons. The unfortunate ones whose blood runs gold rather than red are either killed, outcast, or, if lucky, selected to join the alaki, an all-women military corps where they are trained to fight for the Emperor for a period of 20 years. Otera’s enemies are monsters known as deathshrieks, and Deka learns that she has a special gift: She can control them with her mind and voice. Her natural talent is nurtured and further trained by an older woman Deka calls White Hands, who teaches her not only to channel her power but also about the Gilded Ones, long-ago goddesses who once ruled Otera. In battle after battle, Deka is used by the Emperor to vanquish nests of deathshrieks, and gradually, she finds that she can not only control them, she can understand their language—and the word they most often hurl at her is “Traitor!” Discovering why they call her this upends everything Deka has been taught to believe in this fast-moving, West Africa-inspired fantasy. The story has a bit of romance and a lot of action, but its true strengths lie in the closeness and camaraderie of the women warriors, and in its strong feminist message as Deka joins those working to challenge the status quo. (Age 12 and older)

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY TEEN VOGUE
 
"A dark feminist tale spun with blood and gold. Must read!" –Dhonielle Clayton, New York Times bestselling author of The Belles
 
Sixteen-year-old Deka lives in fear and anticipation of the blood ceremony that will determine whether she will become a member of her village. Already different from everyone else because of her unnatural intuition, Deka prays for red blood so she can finally feel like she belongs.

But on the day of the ceremony, her blood runs gold, the color of impurity–and Deka knows she will face a consequence worse than death.

Then a mysterious woman comes to her with a choice: stay in the village and submit to her fate, or leave to fight for the emperor in an army of girls just like her. They are called alaki–near-immortals with rare gifts. And they are the only ones who can stop the empire's greatest threat.

Knowing the dangers that lie ahead yet yearning for acceptance, Deka decides to leave the only life she's ever known. But as she journeys to the capital to train for the biggest battle of her life, she will discover that the great walled city holds many surprises. Nothing and no one are quite what they seem to be–not even Deka herself.

The start of a bold and immersive fantasy series for fans of Children of Blood and Bone and Black Panther.