Spring4Lilliez
In a realm where the architectural elegance of the East meets the raw majesty of the African and Asian plains, the balance of power is held by the Great Shifter Prides. When the Shadow Claw-a fraternity of low-tier Cheetah and Serval shifters-is framed for a series of noble massacres by a corrupt High Council, twelve-year-old Amani Chee loses everything. Her father and brothers are executed, and she is hunted through the capital.
Desperate and alone, Amani hides in the one place no one would look: the King's own palace. Disguised as an orphan named Mina, she spends five years scrubbing floors and tuning strings in the Bureau of Music, hiding her cheetah "tear-marks" behind soot and silence.
Now seventeen, Amani's sharp wit and supernatural speed remain her greatest secrets. When she thwarts a deadly political frame-up against the rising Leopard consort, Nyla, she is rewarded with a position as a Security Maiden. But as she investigates the shadows of the court, she crosses paths with a mysterious administrative officer who shares her love for the soulful cries of the Haegum. Little does she know, her new friend is King Kosa in disguise-and the secrets she holds in the Royal Archives could either save the kingdom or burn it to the ground.