Mask of Shadows Books in Order

Mask of Shadows is a young adult fantasy duology about survival, revenge, and the danger of getting close to the power you hoped to use. It begins with Sallot, known as Sal, a genderfluid thief who has spent years scraping by after the destruction of their homeland, Nacea.

Sal has one goal: get close enough to the nobles responsible for that loss to make them pay. When the queen announces auditions for a new Opal, one of her elite personal assassins and guards known as the Left Hand, Sal sees a way into the royal court. The position promises money, status, and access. It also comes with a contest in which the other candidates are fully prepared to kill for the job.

Getting in is only the beginning.

The first book, Mask of Shadows, has the tight, dangerous feel of a competition story. Sal must learn court rules while hiding old wounds, building uneasy alliances, and figuring out whom to trust. Masks, assigned identities, secret histories, and the threat of violence keep the pressure high. There is romance in the story, especially through Sal's connection with the court tutor Elise, but revenge remains the engine driving the plot.

The setting matters as much as the contest. Sal's country was devastated by war and by magical shadows, while the people now in charge have found ways to benefit from that destruction. The royal court looks polished from the outside, yet it is full of old bargains, class divisions, and people willing to treat suffering as someone else's problem. Sal is not entering a simple good-versus-evil world. They are entering a system that has already failed them.

In Ruin of Stars, Sal has earned the title of Opal, but becoming an assassin does not solve the mystery of who ordered Nacea's ruin. The second book broadens the story beyond the palace, bringing back old friends and enemies while reports of missing children and returning shadows point to a deeper threat. Sal must weigh the desire for personal revenge against what their choices could mean for everyone else.

This is a dark, action-heavy series with court intrigue, magical danger, and a protagonist who does not fit neatly into anyone's expectations. It can be bloody at times, but its strongest thread is Sal's search for a life that is more than vengeance. Start with Mask of Shadows and read Ruin of Stars next, since the second novel continues Sal's story directly.