Rachelle trained with her aunt to become the village's woodwife--to protect people from the Forest and the evil Forestborn. But Rachelle also dreamed of adventure and when a chance encounter with a Forestborn leads to her being marked as blood-bound--fated to kill or die within three days--she cannot help but murder to survive.
Her will to live is stronger than her willingness to give up all she knows and Rachelle discovers the Foresborn will not allow her to fight that survival instinct. He brutally mutilates her aunt causing Rachelle to end her suffering. The mercy killing sets Rachelle on the path to become Forestborn herself. The fifteen-year-old escapes to the king's city and becomes one of his guards to survive.
Rachelle becomes one of the king's best fighters. Her sworn duty is to protect the citizens from the Forestborn. But along the journey, a single crimson thread ties her to the Foresborn who marked her. The young woman doesn't know what it means or how to escape it, but no one else seems to be able to perceive this ever-present leash.
In the course of her duties, Rachelle catches the notice of the king and is assigned to protect his son Armand. A revolution seems to be building around the young man though he doesn't seem to want to be a part of it. Armand enjoys poking fun at Rachelle and her hesitance to do anything which may offend the upright sensibilities of those who raised her.
The Forestborn returns to bring about the end of the world. The king and his overzealous court are mired in their debauchery, the king's mistress leading their parties into eternal damnation. Rachelle depends on her aunt's woodwife teachings to find a way to prevent the Endless Night.
Both the tools to defeat the Forestborn, the Forest, and the conspiracies ruling their nation and portal into danger--the Forest--are in the sun palace. Rachelle and Armand are unlikely and untrusting allies against the end of the world.
Rachelle is a relatable teen character: as a young teen she has a dream, but when she is tempted, like Little Red Riding Hood, to leave the path she makes a choice which changes the rest of her life. She must live with the consequences. Hodge creates a dark story filled with shades of gray as Rachelle learns how and who to fight to achieve her dream.
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