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At once darkly tense, boldly feminist, and stunningly original, Damsel is the stunning new YA fairy tale from National Book Award finalist Elana K. Arnold.

The rite has existed for as long as anyone can remember: When the king dies, his son the prince must venture out into the gray lands, slay a fierce dragon, and rescue a damsel to be his bride. This is the way things have always been.

When Ama wakes in the arms of Prince Emory, she knows none of this. She has no memory of what came before she was captured by the dragon or what horrors she faced in its lair. She knows only this handsome prince, the story he tells of her rescue, and her destiny of sitting on a throne beside him. It’s all like a dream, like something from a fairy tale.

As Ama follows Emory to the kingdom of Harding, however, she discovers that not all is as it seems, that there is more to the legends of the dragons and the damsels than anyone knows—and that the greatest threats may not be behind her but here, now, and closing in.