The flame of revolution has been lit in the north. Kelnore's next emperor is preparing to ascend his throne. An old vendetta is being reborn. And dangerous sirens lurk in the deeps. The Raider War is over, but Kelnore's future is far from certain. The House of Vepi finds itself threatened from both outside and within the Imperial Court, and as Fabian prepares to ascend the throne, he finds himself faced with a fractured empire that is skittering far too close to instability. With the impending winter, the nobility of Kelnore have descended on Talekos, and a familiar name is being whispered throughout the city, with rumors that put him at the very center of the dangerous revolution in the north: Lucanus of Darnic. As tensions flare, sides will be chosen, but who will the sons and daughters of Vepi side with in the coming darkness? And will the empire be ushered into a new and prosperous future, or will it crumble as the thousand year rule of the House of Vepi is brought to a crushing ruin? The Deceiver is Book 2 in the Royals Trilogy. This Roman inspired romantic fantasy features a heroine with a chronic illness, an outcast duke, ambitious princes, court intrigue, forbidden magic, espionage, secret identity, arranged marriage, forbidden love, mermaids, and a low spice romance.