Golden Light

Melody Malentia, daughter of the executed traitor Princess Violette Malentia, must endure daily humiliation in the imperial palace. The servants treat her with contempt, while her cousins and her aunt, Empress Marianne, constantly stage abuses and assassination attempts against her. Melody is conscripted into military service for the empire she despises and now finds herself threatened on all sides—by Cestian enemies on the battlefield, poisoned meals in her chambers, assassins in the shadows, and treacherous comrades-in-arms. Amidst this chaos, her encounter with a captive woman from enemy territory changes everything. A forbidden connection blossoms in secret as Melody discovers strange powers within herself. When everything threatens to collapse, she must decide whether her love can survive the bloody divide between their nations, or whether she will take up the fight against her enemies.