An assassin with a body made of smoke is recruited to kill the kingdom's heir before he can ascend, in exchange for freedom from the spirit whose bond keeps her from dying - or truly living.
Zana is not alive. The massacre of her village birthed a mysterious spirit who bound itself to a dying young woman - and the material plane - in exchange for immortality. The cost: her mortal form.
Ten years on and weary of her numb, purposeless existence, Zana uses her body of smoke to carry out clandestine assassinations for a small crime syndicate. Her lastest hit is interrupted by Domynikus Karaliutis, the secret second heir to the throne. He reveals his distant cousin, the crown prince, plans to kill the king and plunge their peacekeeping nation-state into war. Dom recruits Zana help him prevent this calamity with one simple promise: he will break her bond with the estranged spirit she calls Shadow. Knowing this may be her last chance to have the life she dreams of, Zana risks her own existence and the fellow criminals she's come to call family in order to bring the prince to an early end. Her greatest challenge, however, is working with the flinty, calculating client who makes her long for things her body has been incapable of for over a decade.
Comp Titles:
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue - V. E. Schwab
A Tempest of Tea - Hafsah Faizal
Six of Crows - Leigh Bardugo