The greatest asset to any army is not a soldier or an archer or even an officer—it is a Wordweaver. A powerful Wordweaver can annihilate hundreds with a single word, and a king would do anything to get his hands on one. Which is why 19-year-old Ynria keeps her abilities secret. She wants nothing more than to finish her studies, become a healer, and live her life in peace.

But war finds her when soldiers come to her village to conscript a man from every family. Desperate to keep her best friend's young brother safe at home—and to escape an unwanted marriage—Ynria disguises her gender and enlists in his place.

When they reach the training grounds, however, Ynria and the villagers find that life as a soldier isn't what they'd expected. Trapped between two countries on the verge of war, Ynria must decide where her loyalties lie. Is it with her neighbors, from whom she has had to hide her true self all her life? Or with Six, an enemy scout whose quick smile hides a mysterious past?

Or is there a way to choose them both?