Nya has a secret she must never share...A gift she must never use... And a sister whose life depends on both. This astonishing debut novel is the first in the epic dystopian fantasy adventure trilogy THE HEALING WARS. Fifteen-year-old Nya is one of Gevegs many orphans; she survives on odd jobs & optimism in a city crippled by a failed war for independence. Nya has a deadly secret. She is a Taker someone who can extract pain & injury from others but with unusual differences. Her sister Tali & other normal Takers become Healers League apprentices & put their extracted pain into enchanted metal pynvium. But Nya cant dump pain in this way. All she can do is shift it from person to person. When Nyas secret is revealed to the pain merchants & the Healers League she is flung into danger. Then a ferry accident floods the city with injured Takers start disappearing from the Healers League & Nyas strange abilities are suddenly in dem&. Her principles & endurance are tested to the limit when Nyas deadly powers become the only thing that can save her sisters life.