Two races fight for what remains of a dying planet. For generations, the Maarlai, an alien race who fled the destruction of their own home world, have lived silently, hidden, exiled on Earth. They watched, year by year, as humanity destroyed what was once a planet full of hope and promise. Unable to idly watch as the planet dipped further into destruction, the Maarlai left their hidden villages and went to war with what was left of humanity. With the death of the last great human king, the Maarlai found themselves victorious and vowed to protect and restore the planet that had sheltered them for so long. A treaty made, an alliance formed. Shannen of House Lyon is a member of the last of the human royal families. While they bend knee to the Maarlai ruler, her people have not forgotten their former greatness, the years of bloodshed and horror... or the memory of their fallen king. To ensure a lasting peace between their two peoples, Shannen and three other prominent human women are sent to the Maarlai capital. One of them will wed the future Maarlai king, cementing the peace between former enemies. When Shannen finds herself married to the Maarlai warrior, she discovers a whole new world... and freedom unlike anything she could have imagined. When war threatens once again, she will need to decide where her loyalties truly lie.

When Shannen of House Lyon found herself wed to the alien Maarlai prince, she was certain that her marriage would be the strangest (yet most wonderful) part of her life. She did not expect to find herself thrust not only into a war, but also a quest for the crown that should have rightfully been hers. Shannen’s journey to claim her crown leads her to friends, allies, and enemies, and, when the absolutely unthinkable happens, she learns what responsibility and leadership truly entail. As Daarik works to unify the Maarlai, he remains conflicted about the task his wife is undertaking. Strong-willed as Shannen is, he regrets agreeing to her insane plot to overthrow the human king. In the end, all of prince, princess, human, Maarlai, traitors and faithful, must unite to face a foe none of them could have ever imagined. Loyalty, love, and unity are the only things that will allow them survive, but only if they are strong enough to put aside the ills of the past.