Rise

He rules through fear. She was born to end him.

But her heart has other plans. For generations, the people of Nelebek have lived under the shadow of Morlet—a tyrant king wielding dark, ancient magic. Ruthless and unstoppable, he has hunted down the fabled Order of the Krigers, magical warriors tied to enchanted weapons that once protected the realm. Eleven have fallen. Only one remains. Sixteen-year-old Kaia has no idea she’s connected to that lost legacy. In a kingdom where whispers can get you killed, Kaia lives like a shadow—unseen, unheard, untouched by the king’s iron rule. Until the day she locks eyes with the tyrant himself—and something deep inside her awakens. Now hunted for the power she didn't know she possessed, Kaia is torn from everything familiar and thrown into a world of violence, rebellion, and secrets. At its center stands Morlet himself—ruthless, magnetic, and impossibly drawn to Kaia for reasons even he doesn’t understand. But Kaia isn't his to claim. Sworn to protect her is Anders, a deadly assassin with a haunted past and secrets of his own. As Kaia's powers grow, so does the pull between her and the two men on opposite sides of a looming war—one sworn to kill, the other destined to die. With the fate of a kingdom in her hands and betrayal lurking behind every vow, Kaia must decide who she is: a weapon of vengeance, a pawn in someone else's game, or a queen of her own making.

One heart. Two enemies. A destiny written in blood.