Shield of Sparrows

The gods sent monsters to the five kingdoms to remind mortals they must kneel.

I’ve spent my life kneeling–to their will and to my father’s. As a princess, my only duty is to wear the crown and obey the king.

I was never meant to rule. Never meant to fight. And I was never supposed to be the daughter who sealed an ancient treaty with her own blood.

But that changed the fateful day I stepped into my father’s throne room. The day a legendary monster hunter sailed to our shores. The day a prince ruined my life.

Now I’m crossing treacherous lands beside a warrior who despises me as much as I despise him–bound to a future I didn’t choose and a husband I barely know.

Everyone wants me to be something I’m not–a queen, a spy, a sacrifice.

But what if I refused the role chosen for me? What if I made my own rules? What if there’s power in being underestimated?

And what if–for the first time–I reached for it?