For centuries, the country of Velle has waited for their highest deity, the New Maiden, to return. The prophecy states she will appear as the third daughter of a third daughter. When the fabled child is finally born to Velle's reigning queen, the only citizen who does not rejoice is Elodie, the queen's eldest daughter, who has lost her claim to the crown. When thirteen-year-old Brianne takes the throne, her vulnerability enables the Church thirsting for ultimate power. The only way for Elodie to protect Velle is to retake the throne. To do so, she must debilitate the Third Daughter. Desperate, Elodie slips away to the midnight market to purchase a potion from Sabine, an apothecary who sells sadness. Adding a single tear enhances any brew tenfold. But Sabine mistakenly sends Elodie away not with the sleeping potion she requests, but with a vial of her tears. Sabine's sadness is dangerously powerful, and Brianne slips into a slumber from which she will not wake. As the Church
