Defend the Dawn

Tessa Cade used to be a masked outlaw. Now she sits as an advisor in the palace, with real influence, and still she cannot stop the sickness that keeps spreading through the kingdom. The supply of Moonflower elixir, the one thing that saves the sick, is running low.

Prince Corrick is trying to find a different way to rule. Mending the break between the royals and the people is slow work, and a second rift is opening between him and Tessa.

An emissary from a neighboring kingdom arrives with an offer that could lead to a fresh source of the elixir. Tessa and Corrick take a sea voyage to pursue it, though nothing about the trip is certain. Tensions rise among the people on deck while the water moves beneath them, and each of them must weigh who deserves trust, the other included.

This is the sequel to Defy the Night and continues that series. It is a fantasy with royal politics, a romance between the two leads, and a mounting sense that a betrayal sits closer than either expects. Expect a fast pace, with the sea voyage keeping the stakes tight and the suspicion constant.