The Rivaled Crown

A princess who swore never to go back to her father's palace has been forced to return. She now lives under the king's rule inside what she calls a gilded cage, where her body and her magic are both at his disposal. She had tried to escape this fate once, and it has caught her again.

Her mate, Dacre, is the one hope the narrator holds. She dreams of him storming the halls and pulling her out of the dark. Yet she doubts that rescue would be enough. By the time she is freed, there may be little of her left to save.

The stakes reach past her own life. The kingdom is dying, and the land withers under the weight of magic her father has stolen. His reign will not end without bloodshed.

The story is told in the first person by the captive heroine, in an intense, brooding voice. It is a fantasy with a mate bond at its center and a cruel, greedy ruler as its villain. The heroine has spent too long in the dark, and she means to fight back with the fire inside her.