Palace of Mirrors

Cecilia lives as a peasant girl, but she has been taught that she is the true princess. She was hidden away after the forces that killed her parents seized the throne, and a commoner named Desmia was placed on the royal seat as a decoy in her stead.

Growing up in disguise has become harder. Cecilia studies statesmanship and palace protocol in secret, then spends her days acting as though her only worry is scrubbing stains from an apron. Sure that the time to act has come, she leaves with her best friend Harper and heads for the capital to claim her place.

At the Palace of Mirrors, the situation is far more tangled than Cecilia expected. Princess Desmia tells a very different version of events, and she has no intention of giving up the crown. Neither girl is willing to step aside, so each has a claim to defend.

This is a young adult fantasy about identity and rival claims to power, told through a hidden heir who must test what she has always believed. The setup suggests a story built on two competing accounts of the same past.