The Thornbound Queen
The kingdom of Thornholt has no queen, until the smoke of Vyrath's raid carries Lyra Thornholt back to a burning Ashenvale and a dying scout who presses a crown into her bleeding hands. Her grandmother is gone, her village is ash, and the true king, Rowan, lies suspended in a deathless sleep while a shadow war erupts over his empty throne. From the clifftop where she once counted threats with her grandmother, Lyra now counts enemies: Kael of Vyrath at the walls, the Cindered Hand Mercenaries burning her borders, and the Hushborn stirring in the deep forest where the Thornholt Dead refuse to rest. Guided by the sharp-tongued salon mage Maelis and the ghost of her ancestor Valdris, Lyra must outpace a poisoned letter, a cloaked informant in the merchant halls of Embergate, and a duel staged for masked patrons who wager on her ruin. Captain Dain Voss offers steel and loyalty she cannot afford to trust. The Reed Coven Sisters offer sorcery bound to old bargains. Even Ardent the golem answers her call. But the crown she wears is woven of thorns, and each ally carries a blade turned inward. To save her people, Lyra must claim a kingdom, and decide whether becoming the Thornbound Queen means ruling, or merely surviving long enough to be devoured by what she awakens.