One girl yearning for freedom. One boy determined to be more than what's expected of him. The desperate journey that will leave them both forever changed."...an original fantasy world inhabited by superstitious tribal nations and intriguingly developed characters." -- SERENA CHASE, USA Today HEA Kita can meld song into stone. In a world with no written word, storytelling--the ability to meld (or magically impress) song into stone--is greatly honored. The village honors her master as their medicine man, but Kita knows he's secretly a sorcerer who practices black magic using drops of her blood. She fears he'll use her beautiful gift for a killing spell, so she conceals it from him. Each day, his magic tightens around her neck like a rope. His spells blind the villagers, so they can't see him for what he really is. Not that anyone would want to help her. She was found in the forest as a baby and would have died if a village girl hadn't brought her home. But the villagers saw Kita's unusual coloring and decided she belonged to the mysterious tribe who lives in the forests of the volcano, a people feared for their mystical powers. So they fear her too. Now seventeen, she can barely admit her deepest longing: to know who she really is and where she belongs.Then Pono, a young journeyman, arrives from the other side of the island. He's come to fulfill a pact between their villages: to escort a storyteller back to his village--a storyteller who'll be chosen at the great assembly. Finally, in Pono, Kita sees her one slim chance at freedom and she'll risk her life to take it.A dark, twisty tale of sorcery, tummy-tingling romance, and adventure, inspired by the folklore of New Zealand's Maori people.Suitable for teens 12+ and young adults (YA) who enjoy romantic fantasy books with elements of mystery, escape, and suspense. This historical high fantasy is rich in myths and legends, a coming-of-age story set on a fictional remote Pacific island, exploring issues of adoption and identity.