They told her the capital had changed. They didn't tell her how much of her it had buried. After nearly a decade in exile, Elira Vayen returns to the kingdom she once served-and quietly betrayed. She carries no army, no allies, only a sealed letter bearing a crest no one speaks of anymore and the kind of silence that unnerves men who crave power. The court remembers her differently. If at all. But the new king-stoic, battle-hardened Cael Draven-remembers everything. As political unrest simmers beneath velvet gowns and sharpened smiles, Elira must navigate a court laced with ghosts, secrets, and eyes that see too much. She's not here for revenge. She's here to stop history from repeating-and she'll burn everything, including herself, before letting it happen again. A gothic slow-burn of silence and strategy, love and ruin, where every secret is a weapon and every glance could be your undoing.