"He was dead—and strangely, I couldn't recall why I should care."

When Clìana Goddan's tutor deems her a master healer, relief washes through her like a flood. Finally, at four-and-twenty, she has the title she needs to escape her grief-stricken life in the Daor highlands and pursue a position at imperial court. But before leaving for Alamada Palace, she receives an unexpected gift: a grimoire filled with the secrets of bloodcraft—an ancient, forbidden magic.

At first, Clìana puts the book from her mind. Bloodcraft may grant supernatural power over the body, but those who wield it often lose themselves to madness, and Clìana has no interest in tempting such a fate. That is, until her future at imperial court hinges upon healing an incurable affliction . . .

Though she forswears further use of magic, Clìana's hand is forced when a rival house wages war against the imperial family. Determined to protect the empire's burdened Bright Prince, she leverages bloodcraft's full power—even as it exacts a devastating cost upon her soul. When she finds herself once more Beneath a Mourning Sky, will bloodcraft prove her undoing?

This book was previously published under the pen name Kristen Ellis Kieffer. All content remains the same.