The kingdom’s wealth must be paid in blood.

 

Althea’s very presence ensures the city’s wealth, but her departure would trigger its ruin. Trapped by a crown that feels more like a shackle, she is destined for a life of forced duty, until she uncovers the gruesome truth behind her mother’s death.

 

Fleeing into the unknown, Althea strikes a desperate alliance with Achilles, a bodyguard with a dubious past who threatens to steal her heart, and Alexander, a nomad warrior who claims her crown belongs to his people. As the clock ticks toward a coronation that will bind her forever, Althea must decide: will she save the kingdom that enslaved her, or let it burn to find her own freedom?