A standalone political fantasy with a romantic subplot.

During Prince Regent Varan Kuhn’s tyrannical attempts at securing his rule, Vengel Tein, now second in line to the throne, is forced to marry a foreign prisoner in order to sever her remaining political influence.

Born as only fifty-sixth in line to the throne, Vengel has always been cautious of the royal family’s blood feuds that earned the monicker of Blood Herons for their capacity to cull their own kin.

Yet while a heron might seem unmoving, they also strike with deadly precision.

Just as Vengel prepares to fight back, she finds that her husband has secrets and ambitions of his own, some of which are potentially more dangerous than her own escape from Varan Kuhn.
Now her rise to power is not only a question of severed family ties, but politics the scale of which once toppled an empire.

For readers who love classical fantasy—but always wished more women were in the room.