AustLit

'Yoshiko, daughter of the daimyō of Hié, has inherited an ancient consuming power—the burning dragon’s spirit, Kiyohimé. After an act of betrayal collapses the world around her, Yoshiko and her mother are forced to flee their castle home. The council are hunting them down, fear and misfortune are plaguing the people of Hié, and people keep going missing, including Yoshiko’s best friend.

'Gora, a jack-of-all-trades foreigner who came to Hié to hide from his past and live a new life, is recruited by Yoshiko to help the desperate noble to return to her castle home and bring peace and safety to the people. But neither of them knows who their enemy is or how to control Yoshiko’s increasing mysterious powers, and Gora must help her while watching her try to control the searing heat that threatens to release an ancient magical beast and destroy everything around her.

'Are Yoshiko’s powers a blessing to help bring peace to her people, or, like Kiyohimé in the folk tales of old, is she cursed to seek vengeance and watch the world burn?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.