Turtschaninoff, Maria

"Only women and girls are allowed in the Red Abbey, a haven from abuse and oppression. Maresi arrived at the Abbey four years ago, during the hunger winter, and now lives a happy life under the protection of the Mother. Maresi spends her days reading in the Knowledge House, caring for the younger novices, and contentedly waiting for the moment when she will be called to serve one of the Houses of the Abbey."--Back cover.

Told in alternating points of view, Kabira, Garai, and the other First Sisters share a history of years of sexual violence, oppression, and exploitation at the hands of the vizier Iskan, whose dark powers originate from his control of the sacred spring at his palace at Ohaddin, before the women are able to escape and establish the female haven of Red Abbey on the island of Menos.

Only women and girls are allowed in the Red Abbey, a haven from abuse and oppression. Maresi, a thirteen-year-old novice there, arrived in the hunger winter and now lives a happy life in the Abbey, protected by the Mother and reveling in the vast library in the House of Knowledge, her favorite place. Into this idyllic existence comes Jai, a girl with a dark past. She has escaped her home after witnessing the killing of her beloved sister. Soon the dangers of the outside world follow Jai into the sacred space of the Abbey, and Maresi can no longer hide in books and words but must become one who acts.