The Sunken Throne
Kael has spent his entire life hiding.
A young scholar in an empire that condemns love between men, he has buried his heart so deep he almost believes the lie himself. When his mother dies, she leaves behind a hidden journal — and a secret: she always knew who he truly was.
The journal speaks of the Sunken Throne, a lost relic of the Drowned — an ancient civilization that the empire erased from history. The Drowned built temples to love in all its forms. Men loved men openly. There was no word for sin. And their throne, buried beneath the waves, holds the power to restore everything the empire tried to destroy.
But the throne only reveals itself to those brave enough to speak their deepest truth.
Kael sets out for the Wailing Coast to find the only person who can guide him: Dorian, a rogue swordsman with a bounty on his head and a scar across his face. Dorian is arrogant, reckless, and infuriatingly handsome. He is also hiding wounds of his own — exiled after being betrayed by a man he loved.
Together, they must read an ancient map written in the Tongue of the Drowned, outrun the empire's ruthless General Morwen, and reach the throne before it is lost forever. Along the way, campfire confessions turn into something deeper. A kiss during a storm changes everything.
When Morwen's soldiers corner them on the beach, Dorian stays behind to fight — and Kael must descend into the sunken city alone. There, he meets the Drowned King, Aeran, who has waited three hundred years for someone brave enough to speak the truth.
Kael sits on the throne. He speaks three words he has never dared say aloud:
"I love him."
The throne rises. The city breaks the surface. Magic returns to the world.
And on the shore, bloodied but alive, Dorian is waiting.