Maer Lakrius feels content and secure in his role of a second-born child in the royal household until the battlefield of Vanas rips his reality apart. Helpless to prevent his older brother's death, Maer returns to the kingdom defeated, and must face not only the weight of his loss, but the burden of becoming Emberya's Crown Prince. A burden, made even worse by the changes in the world Maer believes only he can see. Unknowingly, the young prince's fate becomes entwined with that of a woman-an 18-year-old mercenary with a past she would rather forget, and struggles eerily similar to Maer's own....

While Maer struggles to secure a prosperous future for Emberya, Andalia had already forgone fighting for her own. Gowns instead of shackles, she is trapped in the exact life she had tried to escape. The one thing she hadn't counted on, however, was to find a friend in her enemy's son. As they help each other survive the games of court, Maer and Andalia realize the king's actions impact far more than just their individual fates. But even that is only the beginning...

In a world of courts and mercenaries, Andalia has chosen to belong to the latter, placing her trust in her skills and the company she keeps. But when the line between royals and killers begins to blur, when the carefully crafted veils of the world start to recede, the danger grows beyond what her blades can handle. Fighting the shackles of this new life, Andalia discovers an unlikely ally. A young prince, walking on a knife-edge between salvation and talons of darkness, wishing to rip his kingdom apart.