With tensions rising and their powers no longer a secret, the Nightbirds must decide for whom and for what they are willing to fight for and how far they will go in the spellbinding sequel to the international bestseller Nightbirds.
“Heart-pounding action and romance anchor timely themes of agency and self-actualization.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review
No longer Simta’s best-kept secret, the Nightbirds have transformed into something far more powerful: Fyrebirds. Together, Matilde, Sayer, Æsa, and Fenlin can perform feats of magic no one has seen in centuries—summon storms, bring armies to their knees—but fate seems intent on keeping them apart.
Ensconced within the palace at the handsome new suzerain’s side, Matilde uses charm to convince him and the Simtan Table that girls like her are not a danger and that the prohibition of magic should end. It’s a task made all the more difficult by Sayer, who seeks vigilante justice, lying in wait within the shadows to terrorize Great House lords who would see girls with magic caged again. Sayer seeks out Fen as well, but Fen rebuffs her, intent on denying not only her own magic but also her feelings for Sayer. Æsa, meanwhile, has fled the city completely, trying to out-run her guilt, but is forced to confront her desire for Willan and the jeopardy that puts him in.
As tensions in Simta rise, girls with magic are more vulnerable than ever. For each girl Sayer saves, another disappears, abducted by the grey-cloaked specters. And a terrifying new drug has emerged that can rob a magical girl of her free will. While Simta’s ruling factions remain distracted, tales of the Fyrebirds’ powers reach foreign shores, intriguing an opportunistic king hungry for magic and eager to possess the Fyrebirds—body and soul.
As the fate of all girls with magic hangs on a sword’s edge, the Fyrebirds must find their way back to one another. But will they fight for the freedom of magical girls even if it costs them the lives and loves they might have had?
Fyrebirds is the fiery conclusion to a magical and lush duology about the strength in sisterhood, dismantling systems of power, and the cost of love.
