MALICE ( MALICE )

u003cbu003eA princess isn’t supposed to fall for an evil sorceress. But in this “bewitching and fascinating” (Tamora Pierce)u003c/bu003e u003cbu003eretelling of “Sleeping Beauty,” true love is more than a simple fairy tale.u003c/bu003eu003cbru003e u003cbru003eu003cbu003e“Walter’s spellbinding debut is for all the queer girls and women who’ve been told to keep their gifts hidden and for those yearning to defy gravity.”—u003ciu003eO: The Oprah Magazineu003c/iu003eu003c/bu003eu003cbru003eu003cbru003eOnce upon a time, there was a wicked fairy who, in an act of vengeance, cursed a line of princesses to die. A curse that could only be broken by true love’s kiss.u003cbru003eu003cbru003e You’ve heard this before, haven’t you? The handsome prince. The happily ever after.u003cbru003eu003cbru003e Utter nonsense.u003cbru003eu003cbru003e Let me tell you, no one in Briar actually cares about what happens to its princesses. Not the way they care about their jewels and elaborate parties and charm-granting elixirs. I thought I didn’t care, either.u003cbru003eu003cbru003eUntil I met her.u003cbru003eu003cbru003ePrincess Aurora. The last heir to Briar’s throne. Kind. Gracious. The future queen her realm needs. One who isn’t bothered that I am Alyce, the Dark Grace, abhorred and feared for the mysterious dark magic that runs in my veins. Humiliated and shamed by the same nobles who pay me to bottle hexes and then brand me a monster. Aurora says I should be proud of my gifts. That she . . . cares for me. Even though a power like mine was responsible for her curse.u003cbru003eu003cbru003eBut with less than a year until that curse will kill her, any future I might see with Aurora is swiftly disintegrating—and she can’t stand to kiss yet another insipid prince. I want to help her. If my power began her curse, perhaps it’s what can lift it. Perhaps together we could forge a new world.u003cbru003eu003cbru003eNonsense again. Because we all know how this story ends, don’t we? Aurora is the beautiful princess. And I—u003cbru003eu003cbru003eI am the villain.u003cbru003eu003cbru003eu003cbu003eBook One of the Malice Duologyu003c/bu003e