The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna
Sixteen-year-old Deka, has always felt different from everyone else due to her unnatural intuition. Weighed with anxiety, Deka longs for the blood ceremony, which will determine whether or not she will become a part of her community.
On the day of the ceremony, she wishes for red blood but is revealed as having gold, the color of impurity. Deka is presented with a choice by a mysterious woman: stay in the village and submit to fate or leave to fight for the emperor in an army of girls just like her. Known as alaki – near-immortals with rare talents, they are the only ones capable of stopping the empire’s greatest threats.
The sequel The Merciless Ones publication date is May 31, 2022.
