A kingdom in shadow. A witch on the run. A pirate crew in search of a legend.

Rai knows the day anyone learns she can see the future in fire is the day she will be murdered.

In her world, witches who possess fire magic are blamed for the fall of the land to the Shadows, monsters of darkness who swept through the kingdom like a plague, killing and kidnapping thousands. Three years after the invasion, only the bayou lands remain unscathed. Now sixteen, Rai lives in the swamp with her younger sister, Elianna, and their grandmother, keeping her head low and just trying to survive. Until in a single night, Rai’s magic is discovered and her grandmother is captured by Shadows.

Rai and Elianna barely escape, only to fall into the hands of a pirate crew under the command of Captain Adeline, the most fearsome pirate on the Black Sea. But instead of turning them in for a bounty, the captain approaches them with a surprising proposition: she’ll let Rai and Elianna live, unharmed, if Rai agrees to lend her magic and join the pirate crew on a voyage to a long-lost island. An island that’s said to be home to creatures of legend and the key to stopping the Shadow invasion once and for all: dragons.

With dragons on her side, Rai could keep Elianna safe, rescue their grandmother, and fly far away and finally be free. So, she agrees to the risky proposition. But she soon discovers just how dangerous the journey across the sea will be—and how much it will cost her to push the limits of her magic.

Stephanie Slagle’s debut YA fantasy novel combines the high-seas adventure of Pirates of the Caribbean with elemental magic—and dragons!