V.B. Lacey

For nineteen years, Nox Duma has been a pawn to the Veridian Empire's most ruthless tyrant, a man who tortures his own kind with cruel magical experiments. Haunted by the sister still trapped under this tyrant's control, Nox struggles to lead a secret rebellion.

As a former rebel leader, Clarissa Aris is no stranger to power. She's ready to reclaim the throne of the Veridian Empire and is eager to guide her people out of a past of violence and into a better future.

Wicked meets The Hunger Games in this dark fantasy romance standalone with magical trials, a secret rebellion, and swoon-worthy reluctant allies to lovers romance.

Isla Belthare lives an ordinary life in her small village of Lockhurt. Since losing both her mother and the man she loved two years ago, all she wants is stability and peace. But her world is forever changed when her family is attacked on a journey away from home....

In the aftermath of loss and betrayal, they're left to pick up the shattered pieces of their lives, recovering in their separate corners of the world. That is until the long-lost kingdom invites them back to their shores for a festival of peace....