Lor has endured twelve long years of torment under the Aurora King's rule. Her only desire is to get free and pay him back for every moment of misery she's endured. When a surprise release finds her in the hands of the Sun King, Lor is thrust into the spotlight as she competes against nine other tributes for the role of queen. If she wins his heart, she'll earn her freedom and finally get her revenge. But Lor doesn't belong in the Sun Queen trials.

Wren Embervale, alchemist-turned-assassin, finds solace in only one thing: seeking vengeance for the death of her friends. The wars of the past may be over, but her thirst for revenge is far from quenched. For years, she has been content with her poisons and potions for company, but when an unknown form of alchemy is used to attack a king of the midrealms, Wren’s time in the shadows comes to an end. She’s offered a place at the ancient alchemy academy of Drevenor to find a cure to the dark magic threatening the kingdoms. To win her spot, she must conquer the Gauntlet.

With her death foretold, Althea Zoltaire only has three years to become what she’s always dreamed of being: a warrior legend. Women are forbidden to wield blades, so she has trained in secret her entire life. Now racing against the clock, she fights to secure her place in the elite guild charged with the protection of the five kingdoms. The sparring and hazing of the new trainees border on deadly, but even more dangerous is her growing attraction to Wilder Hawthorne, her unwilling warrior chaperone. All around them, schemes are afoot and darkness looms.

For years, Erik, the scarred king of the Ever Kingdom, has thought of nothing but vengeance against the man who killed his father and trapped him beneath the waves, making him a prisoner in his own realm. Until his enemy's daughter unintentionally breaks the chains on the Ever, and Erik makes her the unwitting pawn in his vicious game of revenge. She's innocent. He's vicious. He will take back what he lost, no matter the price. Unless she steals his heart first.

In a mortal world colonized by the gods and ruled over by their cruel offspring, the Descended, Diem Bellator yearns to escape the insular life of her poor village. Her mother's sudden disappearance—and the discovery of a dangerous secret about her past—offer Diem an unexpected opportunity to enter the dark world of Descended royalty and unlock the web of mysteries her mother left behind.