"Zohra is such an exciting storyteller - I was held spellbound throughout." Abi Elphinstone, author of Sky SongSet in a lavish world of sorceresses, alchemists, jinn and flying carpets, this spine-tingling middle-grade book is perfect for fans of Kiran Millwood Hargrave and Sophie Anderson. Confined to a besieged Settlement, Yara longs to free her mother from the alchemists in the City of Zehaira. When Yara receives a message from her mother to find the hidden residence of the Grand High Sorceress, it sets her on a different path. Yara and her friends set off on an adventure to find her mother's home, and to seek out a secret magic that her mother was working on – magic so powerful that it could defeat the alchemists once and for all. But the wicked alchemist Omair Firaaz is on her trail and will stop at nothing to gain the power himself... Can Yara and her friends find the magic that could be the answer to everything ... before it...

'Enchanting, immersive and beautifully imagined. Once I'd finished, I couldn't stop dreaming of this magnificent magical world' A.F. Steadman, author of Skandar and the Unicorn Thief A breathtaking adventure for fans of Kiran Millwood Hargrave, Sophie Anderson and Eva Ibbotson – perfect for intrepid young explorers age 9+!My own Yara, if you are reading this, then something terrible has happened, and you are on your own. To return to the city of Zehaira, you must read out the words on the back of this letter . . . Good luck, my brave girl. When Yara's mother passes away, she leaves behind a letter and a strange set of instructions. Yara must travel from the home she has always known to a place that is not on any map – Zehaira, a world of sorcerers, alchemists and simmering magic. But Zehaira is not the land it used to be. The practice of magic has been outlawed, the Sultan's alchemists are plotting a sinister scheme – and the...