Narina Brevou was never meant to wear a crown. She was meant to marry Diamo, the man who has loved her since childhood, and live a quiet life in their village, Verti. But fate, and the King, have other plans. Torn from her home, she is thrust into a world of rigid tradition, forced into an unwanted betrothal to a Prince as unreadable as he is short-tempered.

The palace is not just gilded halls and court whispers; it is a cage. Obedience is survival and defiance is punished. Every moment is a battle between the fire in her soul and the rules that threaten to break her. However, Narina is not so easily broken.

She fights to escape, fights to return to the life that was stolen from her. No matter how far she is taken from Verti, her heart refuses to forget. But the King does not tolerate rebellion, and the more she resists, the more he punishes. He demands her obedience, the Prince wants her loyalty, and the weight of duty is suffocating.

As love and duty wage war in her heart, Narina soon learns that not all prisons have walls. Some are built with vows that can never be broken. As the stakes rise and her past and future collide, Narina must make an impossible choice. How much of herself is she willing to sacrifice? And what if the only way to protect those she loves most. . . is the one thing she swore she’d never do?