Description:
Magic is not forbidden on the continent-it is hunted. Those born with it are dragged into the darkness... and executed. The Shadow King sees to that.
He rules the cursed, dark continent from his throne while his Acolytes tear through villages, ripping secrets from those unwilling to speak, leaving nothing but silence in their wake. No one knows why he hoards magic. No one dares to ask.
Lyra Tartethyn knows one thing-if he finds her, she won't just die. She'll be kept.
A healer by trade and a liar by necessity, Lyra has spent years hiding the truth buried beneath her skin: her magic is rare, dangerous... and powerful enough to make a king unravel.
She survives by staying invisible...until the day she is caught. Until the moment the Shadow King's gaze finds hers-and lingers.
Now she is no longer prey. She is wanted.
Taken to his kingdom of shadows, Lyra is forced into a dangerous game where defiance is punished, obedience is tested, and every breath she takes is watched. He does not break her quickly. He does not kill her.
He studies her.
Pushes her.
Unravels her, piece by piece, trying to take that which never belonged to him.
The more she resists the Shadow King, the more he seems to want her.
To survive, Lyra repeats the only truths she has left:
I am strong.
I will not break.
I will not bend.
But the Shadow King is patient. And he has every intention of making her do all three.