Raybearer

Tarisai has grown up in isolation, rarely seeing the woman she knows only as the Lady, her mother. When she is finally sent to the heart of the empire of Aritsar, it is to compete for a place on the Crown Prince's chosen council of eleven. Tarisai has always wanted to belong somewhere, and the council offers exactly that kind of closeness. Yet her mother has placed a magical command on her: once she wins the prince's trust, she must kill him. Drawing on West African storytelling traditions, Jordan Ifueko's debut fantasy follows a young woman torn between love and compulsion as she begins to question the history she was taught and the empire built on it. It is the first novel in the Raybearer series and suits teen readers who enjoy rich worldbuilding and court intrigue.