Blessed Thy Gift

In a world where creatures from Philippine mythology are branded as monsters, Mae discovers that she is one of them-a descendant of the feared Manananggal, cursed to carry wings she cannot summon except during full moons and a body she cannot split like others of her kind. Labeled defective, she is an outcast even among monsters.

When a secret, deadly tournament known as the Blood Battle opens its gates to the Blessed and the Cursed-creatures twisted by myth and truth-Mae enters, not for glory, but to win the prize money that could lift her family from poverty and the fabled Elixir of Life that might save her dying sibling.

But within the arena, nothing is as it seems. Enemies wear kind faces, allies harbor secrets, and the so-called monsters have stories more human than any folklore has told. As Mae battles her way through legends and lies, she begins to question the boundaries between good and evil, human and spirit-and what it really means to be a monster.

With claws sharpened by truth and wings born of pain, Mae must rise-or be consumed.