By Crook

Taliah tries to keep her head down to avoid notice from those who resented her mother for marrying a dark-skinned traveler. She tends the flock for Cassel with the help of her dog Roi in exchange for food and board within the safe walls; outside the walls, the ward stones have been failing and letting dangerous creatures out of the Wayward Forest.

Baye wants nothing less than to marry a foreigner for the political gain of her parents. She wants to learn and engage with the natural world and leave the socializing and power struggles to literally anyone else. When she sees a chance for escape just before arriving at Manor City, she takes it and inadvertently tangles Taliah in a whole mess of attention.

Together, the two could escape the roles society has cast them in. First, they must decide if the danger is worth it and whether they are strong enough to make it on their own.