Rise of the Dawnbringer

Princess Mara, niece and heir of King Grathiel, has spent her whole life behind the white walls of Delinval, raised to know her kingdom's history and dreading the marriage her uncle has planned for her. On the eve of her twenty-first birthday, her world shatters: Dreads — the immortal dark-magick users Grathiel vanquished twenty years before — infiltrate the castle and kidnap her from her own bed. For the first time, Mara sees beyond Delinval's walls, into a dying world ravaged by corruptive magic, stalked by horrifying creatures, and ruled by foul kings twisted by diabolical power. A mysterious ritual involving Mara herself may be the land of Zenafrost's only hope for survival — if hidden truths about her own past don't burn her life to the ground first. Book one of I.A. Takerian's Bornbane series.