Rebel Skies

Kurara has never known any other life than being a servant on board the Midori, but when her party trick of making paper come to life turns out to be a power treasured across the empire, she joins a skyship and its motley crew to become a Crafter. Taught by the gruff but wise Himura, Kurara learns to hunt shikigami—wild paper spirits who are sought after by the princess. But are these creatures just powerful slaves for the Crafters and the empire, or are they beings with their own souls—and yet another thing to be subjugated by the powerful emperor and his princess?

Kurara has never known any other life than being a servant onboard the Midori, a flying ship serving the military elite of the Mikoshiman Empire, a vast realm of floating cities. Kurara also has a secret—she can make folded paper figures come to life with a flick of her finger. But when the Midori is attacked and Kurara's secret turns out to be a power treasured across the empire, a gut-wrenching escape leads her to the gruff Himura, who takes her under his wing.

Kurara has barely escaped the grasp of Princess Tsukimi. Reeling from her Crafter mentor's grim betrayal, Kurara and her friends are desperate to catch up with their old airship, even if it means they have to do it on foot. But after everything she's been through, Kurara refuses to give up on understanding and freeing the shikigami, origami creatures enchanted to life, nor will she stop at anything to understand her mysterious past, no matter who tries to interfere . . . or what dark truths about her role in the war may surface, the farther south she goes.

urara and her shipmates have escaped the grasp of the princess, whose wish to control and command them as her own human shikigami would be a fate worse than death. Travelling through the forests and across the seas of Mikoshima, they finally the Grand Stream, where their old airship—and old enemies—await. Both parties seek the greatest shikigami of all: Suzaku, a paper phoenix. But will it be saved—or destroyed?

The third in a pacy, lyrical and vivid fantasy adventure trilogy set in a world of flying ships, sky cities and rebel uprisings.