This book was so good I devoured it in a single evening. I couldn’t read it fast enough and I am dying to know what happens in the sequel I hope is coming soon. It was refreshing to read a fantasy story where the hero (or heroine in this case) doesn’t hold a large or extremely powerful magic but a small and often ignored one. Zahru just wants to see the palace once and maybe get to try some chocolate so she and her best friend devise a plan to sneak her on for the banquets where the royal heirs will pick their companions for the race for the throne. A harrowing race across the desert where the winner drives a dagger through the heart of an unfortunately chosen sacrifice and gains unthinkable magic. Zahru accidentally steps in between a royal feud and finds herself named the chosen one - to be sacrificed. The journey across the desert isn’t what she expected and her only hope is to escape or defeat the most powerful people in the realm.