Within the deceptively beautiful castle in the Kingdom of Malesiir, Princess Erianna pours herself into the mold Prince Grandileer expects her to fill, but under Valor’s tutelage, she has become much more than a demure princess. She is a weapon.
The isolated Northern Province has been cast into turmoil from more than the recent blizzard. Malice festers in the frigid mountains and within Valor Ironforge, making his task of quieting the civil unrest nigh impossible.
While Erianna and Valor struggle to live with the decisions she has made and their unforeseen consequences, an enemy invades their borders, quietly and ruthlessly undermining the fabric of the Kingdom of Malesiir…
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Erianna:
Being the Princess of Malesiir was once my dearest dream, but I am no longer the shadow of a woman I once was. It seems a curse to have grown to want more than this meaningless existence. I constrain myself to be the perfectly respectable Princess of Malesiir, but the weight of my crown smothers me. In this fickle court I need allies, but gaining them is impossible when everyone wears a mask. All the while, the enemy stalks my steps, biding his time.
Finding my footing in my marriage proves no less daunting. If I choose to trust my cunning husband with my broken heart, he may be capable of mending it and securing my lifelong happiness. But he is the greatest deceiver of us all. His careful management of me attests to his layers of schemes. What is he so determined to hide?
Valor:
Bitter regret rots me from within. My title and position hang by an indifferent thread. Malesiir is crumbling around me, yet I struggle to care. Enraged at my betrayer, I drink myself to sleep to avoid the immeasurable pain. My friends rally around the wretch I have become, attempting to return me to the man I was. But I am irrevocably changed. I am lost. What did I do wrong? How did I lose the woman who was promised to me?
My efforts to discover the identities of the Brigands are likewise futile. Still, I pursue them. They are tearing apart my kingdom, murdering those sent to stop them, and leading our people into open rebellion. My message of reconciliation is subverted by the Brigands’ poison. Without decisive action against the rebellion, Malesiir will fall. My people are all that remain to me. How can I live with myself if I turn my sword against them? Am I destined to lose everything?
