The Princess Who Escaped Execution
"They buried me alive. I clawed my way out. Now I'm coming for their crowns."
Princess Cassia Valordane was twenty when her brother orchestrated her execution. Framed for treason, stripped of her title, and erased from history, she was buried alive in the Crimson Catacombs, the empire's graveyard for traitors.
She should have died in that coffin, scratching at wood until her fingers bled. Instead, the Shadowhand criminal syndicate rescued her with one condition: become their weapon against the crown.
Five years later, she returns as Sera Ashwood, a mysterious noblewoman with midnight hair, impeccable manners, and a merchant empire. No one recognizes the princess they buried.
Her mission: infiltrate the court, expose her brother's corruption, and reclaim her stolen throne.
But she didn't plan on Duke Kaelen Nightraven, the Emperor's advisor who sentenced her to death, and the only person who seems to see through her disguise. He's brilliant, ruthless, and bound by duty. He believes she was guilty. He believes her death was necessary.
Yet he's fascinated by Lady Sera, drawn to her fire and intelligence. As they're forced together, cracks appear in both their armor. Cassia discovers Kaelen carries guilt from that day, questions he's never been allowed to ask. And when he begins investigating inconsistencies in the old trial, their impossible connection deepens.
The truth shatters everything: the coup Cassia was accused of plotting actually happened—orchestrated by her cousin to eliminate the one person who would have stopped it. And they're planning to finish what they started.
Cassia must choose between revenge and redemption, between the princess who died and the woman she became. The man who sentenced her to death might be the only one who can help her save the empire.
She survived her execution. But surviving the truth might destroy her.