A sixteen-year-old woodcutter wins an ancient ring in a fight for his life — and learns too late that it doesn't grant wishes. It reveals what they cost. In the forgotten village of Ashford, a simple woodcutter named Karl kills a serpent guarding an ancient secret — and walks away with Trubongco, a ring said to grant any wish. But Trubongco doesn't grant wishes. It answers desire, and desire always has a price. One small wish for food sets off a chain no one in Ashford can stop: a greedy merchant's suspicion, a best friend's fear, a girl who finds her family's darkest secret, and an order of soldiers who believe boys like Karl are exactly why the world once nearly ended. Karl never wanted power. Now he can't put it down. And every person he tries to protect is about to learn that kindness, in the wrong hands, can be just as dangerous as cruelty. ---