"Power demands sacrifice" In Sylthia, power is earned through blood and blade—and women who dare to claim it are burned alive. Beatrice Valthera should have been ash. Instead, her father disguised her as a son and raised her as Prince Henry, heir to the throne. For eighteen years she has fought, commanded, and obeyed, bound to a lie that keeps her alive by day and destroys her by night. Now the Regalia Trials have a brutal contest where heirs bleed for crowns. Beatrice must win—and keep her secret buried. But when Sylthia’s most feared assassin uncovers the truth, her very life hangs in the balance. His silence could save her. His betrayal could ruin her. As shadows close in and her hidden scar burns with ancient magic, something long thought dead begins to stir. Dragons are rising. And they are rising for her. She must will she bend to the lie that protects her... or rise, and burn the world that would burn her first?