The trials tested her body. This one wants her heart.

Mary has survived frozen mountains, deadly games, and the ghosts of her own past. But the sixth trial doesn't ask for her endurance. It demands ten years of her life.

Crowned queen of a kingdom built to fall, Mary must rule souls who worship her as a god while the sister she's fighting for slips further from her reach with every passing year. Azel, wounded protecting her, lies silent and unreachable. And in his place stands Valerio. Patient, attentive, always three steps ahead. He plans her balls. He charms her nobles. He offers to take her pain away with a single touch. All she has to do is let him.

But in this trial, her word is law, and every command has a price. Mary is about to learn that the most dangerous wishes are the ones that come true.

For fans of Nevernight, Kingdom of the Wicked, and The Knight and the Moth: a dark fantasy series with deadly trials, morally complex characters, and a devastating slow-burn love story that spans four books. No spice, no explicit content. Just obsession, tension, and devotion sharp enough to cut.

Tropes readers love in this series:

• A reluctant queen and a kingdom built to fall
• A guardian angel and a forbidden slow burn
• An obsessive demon whose devotion feels like shelter
• Found family in the darkest place
• A power where every command has a price
• Ten years on the clock and a sister slipping away