The Kingdom of Arden lives in prosperity and calm under the prudent rule of Randall and Aurora Corwin. But behind the shine of the marble galleries of Whitehall, secret alliances, conspiracies, and finely woven courtly games are hiding.
Crown Prince Rainer becomes a hostage to a forced alliance with a bride he cannot stand. But is it even possible to break free from what has already been named your fate?
And Princess of Arden, the young Roxana Corwin, stands at a crossroads between duty and feeling. Her heart is torn between a mysterious northern prince—whom she gave a wreath on the night of the northern festival’s main celebration—and Izanu Naari, the son of a soldier and a servant, a childhood friend with whom she shares years of laughter, stolen moments in the gardens of Whitehall, and secrets known only to the two of them. But Izanu is no longer the carefree boy of the past: dangerous magic awakens in his veins—magic capable of shattering the fragile world on which Arden depends.