“I am not the queen they hoped to mold, nor the martyr they wished to bury.”

People flinch as she passes. Neighbors avert their eyes. Mothers clutch their children. No one dare touches her. And no one ever has.

Eighteen-year-old Lyra Seravell has spent her life hiding behind leather gloves and Virellia’s frozen isolation. But when a royal decree summons one girl from each of the seven regions to compete for the Prince’s hand, she’s forced into the gilded heart of Valerieth.

She travels to Aurea, a gleaming region with a capital city of gold, but as secrets unravel, so does the city’s masterful facade.

Among rival girls and watching eyes, trials unfold. The palace is a game board. The girls are the pieces. And Lyra begins to draw too much attention. She’s nothing like the others. The King can see it, but so can his son.

Prince Cassian Vaelros is the golden child of Valerieth and everything Lyra was taught to fear. Everything she has grown to hate. But the closer she gets, the more blurred the line of enemy and ally becomes.

As the palace walls close in, and ancient fantasies stir, Lyra must decide what she’s willing to sacrifice—her freedom, her heart, or her fire within.

Because some flames were never meant to be contained. Some were meant to burn.

Seven regions. Seven girls. One crown.