The Wishless Ones

Years before he becomes Agrabah's grand vizier, Jafar is a boy with one aim: to keep his gentle younger brother, Rohan, safe. Their mother is dead, and their father's cruelty hangs over the household. Jafar also believes he is meant for more, and he hopes to win a place as an apprentice in alchemy at the House of Wisdom in Maghriz.

Then a fire destroys what is left of the brothers' broken life. Jafar turns to lies and tricks, and he persuades Rohan that the House of Wisdom offers the only way to start over.

Maghriz proves more dangerous than either of them expects. Its Sultana is planning a large deception that could shape the future of the nation, and she sees the brothers as the piece her scheme lacks.

For the first time, Jafar can picture a life in which his own wants come before Rohan's. Rohan, for his part, is ready to step out from his brother's shadow. Each must face his darkest impulses, and the question that drives the book is whether ambition is worth the loss of the one bond that has held them together.