The Thorn and the Hollow Crown

Aurelia Thorn was never meant to wear the crown. But when her father dies screaming on a throne of iron, she is left with a poisoned kingdom, a consort she never chose, and a curse coiled around her bloodline. Seren, the brooding prince bound to her by treaty, hides a name, and a nature, that could shatter the fragile peace between their realms. As war drums echo through the ash-choked south and Lord Veyran's ambitions tighten like a noose, Aurelia must navigate the whispers of the Fae Council, the grief of her mother's ghost, and the counsel of a father who refuses to stay buried. But the deepest wound comes from the sea. The Drowned Knight has risen, ancient, armored, and bound to a vengeance older than the crown itself. When his march begins, every secret Aurelia guards becomes a weapon, and every choice she makes will either save the realm or drown it in blood.