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The horns appeared when Rayale was forty-eight, long after she had become a wife, a mother, and a queen. Once feared for powers capable of calling lightning and opening the Veil between worlds, Ray survived betrayal, torture, and exile before carving out a life of her own in the divided kingdoms of Metis.

Then an ancient god sends his daughter to kill her. Ray survives the attack, but something buried inside her awakens. As her body begins to change and an ancient presence reaches into her mind, Ray discovers that the power she has spent a lifetime controlling was never entirely hers.

She was created for a purpose.

And the god who created her intends to claim what belongs to him.

To protect the family and kingdom she fought to build, Ray must uncover the truth of what she is before she becomes the weapon she spent her life refusing to be.

Ray waited until the first light struck the impossibly beautiful stones, until the sun god started his slow arc across the sky, just as he had years before. Monolithic, the Stone Chamber gleamed white and stoic under the first brush of his radiance. As the stone warmed, its high crown seemed to disappear into the sky. Gods, it was beautiful.

A woman's hand grips an ornate sword with a dark red gemstone as lightning circles her hand and blade.
A woman's hand grips an ornate sword with a dark red gemstone as lightning circles her hand and blade.

“Why would such a being even need a weapon?

‍ —Molynar

Close-up of a woman wearing a crescent moon necklace as a man's hand lifts the pendant against a dark background

“The cloth,” she whispered. “The one with the moon. You held it in your hands. I saw it.”

“Is it not the same? The moon, Jaidyn. It’s the same.”

A clawed hand and blood-stained human hand grip an infinity-shapted insignia against a dark background.

‍ ‍...kill him, Queen.

Close-up of a person wearing a dark leather jacket with detailed embroidery, a light-colored shirt, and a necklace with a horn pendant around their neck.
Close-up of a person wearing a dark leather jacket with detailed embroidery, a light-colored shirt, and a necklace with a horn pendant around their neck.
Close-up of hands holding a small wooden box with a ring inside, accompanied by small white flowers

‍ ‍…oh, this king.
-Rayale ‍

Two ornate metal crowns with blue gemstones in a wooden chest lined with dark velvet and cream-colored ribbon.
Two ornate metal crowns with blue gemstones in a wooden chest lined with dark velvet and cream-colored ribbon.
A king with a crown and ornate robes stands on a balcony, receiving a blessing from a figure in a white robe, overlooking a large, illuminated medieval city at night with a full moon in the sky.
A king with a crown and ornate robes stands on a balcony, receiving a blessing from a figure in a white robe, overlooking a large, illuminated medieval city at night with a full moon in the sky.

Some crowns are inherited.
Some are forged.
All come at a price.

Ornate fantasy emblem with intricate gold metalwork and a central blue gemstone on a white background.

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Stories about family, medicine, memory, ridiculous cars, grief, and the occasional woman with horns.

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