Long ago, the world was destroyed by gods. Only nine cities were spared. Separated by vast wilderness teeming with monsters and unimaginable dangers, each city is now ruled by a guardian—royalty who feed on mortal pleasure.
Born with an intuition that never fails, Calista knows her talents are of great value to the power-hungry of the world, so she lives hidden as a courtesan of the Baron of Archwood. In exchange for his protection, she grants him information.
When her intuition leads her to save a traveling prince in dire trouble, the voice inside her blazes with warning—and promise. Today he’ll bring her joy. One day he'll be her doom.
When the Baron takes an interest in the traveling prince and the prince takes an interest in Calista, she becomes the prince’s temporary companion. But the city simmers with rebellion, and with knights and monsters at her city gates and a hungry prince in her bed, intuition may not be enough to keep her safe.
Calista must choose: follow her intuition to safety or follow her heart to her downfall.
Why You Should Read This Book
Tropes
Trigger Warnings
Fall of Ruin and Wrath
“So my advice likely means nothing, but you need to ignore your intuition this time. When the Prince returns, you need to tell him that you’ve met before. You need to tell him.”
“But if he thinks that I’m just going to submit and make this easy for him? He has another thing coming.”
“I can touch a caelestia for a little while before I start to know things, but I’ve never touched a Hyhborn before, and whenever I’m asked something that deals with them, I sense nothing. So, I’m not sure.”
“It’s actually not complicated. The Princess believes that it is time for a queen instead of a king to rule.”
“If you’re one of the Baron’s favorites and he sent you to service me, then you know exactly how you are servicing me at the moment.”
“I want her. For the duration of my time here, she is mine.”
“Someone sounds like they had the common sense fucked out of them.”
“You do know that Hyhborn cannot tell a lie.”
“My heart hasn’t beat in a long time, not as it would for a mortal.”
“You just close your eyes. Like you did last night, when your fingers were between your thighs and your mouth was on my cock. Just close your eyes and feel.”
“Your skin smells of the cherries that flourish in the meadows of Highgrove. I bet your lips taste just as sweet.”
“Na’laa. You should’ve known better than to run. I will always catch you.”
“No being is so powerful that they cannot become weak. Not even a lord, a prince, or a king.”
“But as with most things that are beautiful on the outside, there is nothing but ruin and wrath on the inside.”
“There is this … feeling that I know you. It’s this strange sensation that we’ve met before.”
“Did you know that the Hyhborn are known for climaxes that can last for hours—actual hours?”
“Ingesting our blood would kill a mortal, but smooth … it over a wound? A scar? It will be healed. Sprinkle it on barren land and crops will flourish. Bury a hand … in freshly plowed soil, and crops will flourish there too, ones insusceptible … to drought or disease. Our teeth dropped into water can create coin.”
“I am not a possession. I am owned by no one.”
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