Author: Petra Lord

This limited deluxe edition is printed with one-of-a-kind etched, gold foil edges, stunning foil on the case, and a striking printed endpaper map!

"The ruthless, remarkable world you've been waiting for." --Chloe Gong, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of These Violent Delights

"A twisty, dark academia fantasy . . . I was hooked from the very first page." --Marie Lu, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Skyhunter

This dark academia fantasy follows a desperate girl at a cutthroat magical academy who faces a choice between life and death: become an assassin for the enchanted elite or watch her decaying body draw its last breath. For fans of Leigh Bardugo, Brandon Sanderson, Lev Grossman, and R.F. Kuang.

Anabelle Gage is trapped in a male body, and it's rotting from the inside out. But Ana can't afford to escape it, even as the wealthiest in Caimor buy and discard expensive designer bodies without a thought. When she fails to gain admittance to the prestigious Paragon Academy--and access to the healthy new forms the school provides its students--her final hope implodes. Now without options, Ana must use her illusion magic to try to steal a healthy chassis--before her own kills her.

But Ana is caught by none other than the headmaster of Paragon Academy, who poses a brutal ultimatum: face execution for her crime or become a mercenary at his command. Revolt brews in Caimor's smog-choked underworld, and the wealthy and powerful will stop at nothing to take down the rebels and the infamous dark witch at their helm, the Black Wraith.

With no choice but to accept, Ana will steal, fight, and kill her way to salvation. But her survival depends on a dangerous band of renegades: an impulsive assassin, a brooding bombmaker, and an alluring exile who might just spell her ruin. As Ana is drawn into a tangled web of secrets, the line between villain and hero shatters--and Ana must decide which side is worth dying for.

Publisher: Macmillan Publishers (MPS)
Published: 02/03/2026
Pages: 432
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.06oz
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 1.00d
ISBN: 9781250362971

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 11/03/2025
School Library Journal 12/01/2025 pg. 71

About the Author
Petra Lord is a biracial trans author. She has a BFA in TV Writing from New York University, which she uses to recommend TV shows to her parents and predict the endings of movies. She's currently based in Los Angeles, where she feeds her dual addictions to hot pot and Korean barbecue and sustains herself off videos of her cat. Queen of Faces is her debut novel. Follow her on Instagram.