For Marit Olsen, magic is all about strategy: it flows freely through her blood, but every use leaves behind a deadly ice-like build-up within her veins called the Firn. Marit knows how dangerous it is to let too much Firn build up–after all, it killed her sister–and she has vowed never to use her thread magic. But when Eve, a fellow orphan whom Marit views like a little sister, is adopted by the wealthy Helene Vestergaard, Marit will do anything to stay by Eve’s side. She decides to risk the Firn and uses magic to secure a job as a seamstress in the Vestergaard household.

But Marit has a second, hidden, agenda: her father died while working in the Vestergaards’ jewel mines–and it might not have been an accident. The closer Marit gets to the truth about the Vestergaard family, the more she realizes she and everyone she’s come to love are in danger. When she finds herself in the middle of a treacherous deception that goes all the way up to the king of Denmark, magic may be the only thing that can save her–if it doesn’t kill her first.

Aila Quinn’s mother, Juliet, has always been a mystery. Vibrant yet guarded, she keeps her secrets beyond Aila’s reach. When Juliet dies, Aila and her younger brother Miles are sent to live in Sterling, a rural town with mysteries of its own. In Sterling, the experiences that weave life together – scents of flowers and food, reflections from mirrors and lakes, even the ability to dream – vanish every seven years. No one knows what causes these Disappearances or what will slip away next. But it has always been suspected that Juliet was somehow responsible, so Aila, bearing the brunt of that blame, follows the chain of literary clues her mother left behind. As the next Disappearance nears, Aila begins to unravel the dual mystery of why the Disappearances happen and who her mother truly was. One thing is clear: Sterling isn’t going to hold on to anyone’s secrets for long.