Ever since she and her younger brother, Radu, were wrenched from their homeland of Wallachia and taken to be raised in the Ottoman courts, Lada Dragwlya has known that being ruthless is the key to survival. Lada despises the Ottomans and bides her time, planning her vengeance for the day when she can return to Wallachia. Radu longs only for a place where he feels safe. And when they meet Mehmed, the defiant and lonely son of the sultan, who’s expected to rule a nation, Radu feels that he’s made a true friend --- and Lada wonders if she’s finally found someone worthy of her passion.

Ever since she and her younger brother, Radu, were wrenched from their homeland of Wallachia and taken to be raised in the Ottoman courts, Lada Dragwlya has known that being ruthless is the key to survival. Lada despises the Ottomans and bides her time, planning her vengeance for the day when she can return to Wallachia. Radu longs only for a place where he feels safe. And when they meet Mehmed, the defiant and lonely son of the sultan, who’s expected to rule a nation, Radu feels that he’s made a true friend --- and Lada wonders if she’s finally found someone worthy of her passion.

This vividly rendered novel reads like HBO’s "Game of Thrones"...if it were set in the Ottoman Empire. Ambitious in scope and intimate in execution, the story’s atmospheric setting is rife with political intrigue, with a deftly plotted narrative driven by fiercely passionate characters. Fans of Victoria Aveyard’s THE RED QUEEN, Kristin Cashore’s GRACELING and Sabaa Tahir’s AN EMBER IN THE ASHES won’t want to miss this visceral, immersive and mesmerizing novel, the first in a trilogy.

No one expects a princess to be brutal. And Lada Dragwlya likes it that way. Ever since she and her gentle younger brother, Radu, were wrenched from their homeland of Wallachia and abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman courts, Lada has known that being ruthless is the key to survival. She and Radu are doomed to act as pawns in a vicious game, an unseen sword hovering over their every move. For the lineage that makes them special also makes them.

Lada despises the Ottomans and bides her time, planning her vengeance for the day when she can return to Wallachia and claim her birthright. Radu longs only for a place where he feels safe. And when they meet Mehmed, the defiant and lonely son of the sultan, who’s expected to rule a nation, Radu feels that he’s made a true friend --- and Lada wonders if she’s finally found someone worthy of her passion.

But Mehmed is heir to the very empire that Lada has sworn to fight against --- and that Radu now considers home. Together, Lada, Radu and Mehmed form a toxic triangle that strains the bonds of love and loyalty to the breaking point.

From New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White comes the first book in a dark, sweeping new series in which heads will roll, bodies will be impaled...and hearts will be broken.

Audiobook available, narrated by Fiona Hardingham.