Kill the Queen

Lady Everleigh, called Evie, is seventeenth in line for the throne of Bellona, a kingdom built on gladiator tradition. Magical power decides a person's worth there, and Evie has no obvious ability. At court she is a ceremonial fixture, overlooked and mostly forgotten.

Her cousin Vasilia, the crown princess, murders the queen, her own mother, and seizes the throne by force. Evie is attacked along with the rest of the royal family. A secret immunity to magic is the only reason she escapes the massacre.

In hiding, Evie joins a gladiator troupe. To the crowds the gladiators are entertainers, but they are also highly trained warriors. Among them is Lucas Sullivan, a powerful magier with secrets of his own. Evie begins training with them while she works out what to do next.

Vasilia's cruelty grows and pushes Bellona toward war. Evie has to turn herself into a fearsome fighter and go after the queen. This is the first book in a fantasy series, mixing magic, murder and court intrigue with a hint of romance.