Darkness is creeping in from the edges of the empire. A threat that has been all but lost to history is rising again. Cassia Auralius is the first female Heir of the Empire of Metus to not abdicate her right to the throne. Behind her is a line of warrior-kings and sacred laws. Before her is an uncertain future painted in blood. Opposed by her father and challenged by her brothers, Cassia must first prove herself worthy of the throne gifted by the gods. Ancient trials--trials she must not fail--will test her strength, both of her mind and her heart. The first trial--three long travel years cut off from her family and her own nobility--will soon begin. If Cassia can survive, she will be one step closer to her throne. A throne that will soon be under a threat she could never have imagined. Cassia will need allies, both common and strange to defeat this threat. If she fails in this, she will lose not only her throne, but her empire. Amazing cover by @StormRidden Copyright © 2019

Fear the dark. Bar the doors. Don't breathe a word. Wait for the Hooded Men to save you. The people of Nictaven live in fear of the night; governed by magic no one save a few can control, in a land plagued by demons and cannibal tribes, and isolated from all other worlds for centuries, they're right to. Only the Unspoken, a secretive guild of warriors linked with the land and its magic, provide any safety when darkness falls. For centuries, it has stayed like this. But in an abandoned crypt worlds away, Jordan Haverford is about to change that. It wasn't quite the holiday he had been hoping for. Plunged into a world where who you are and what you believe can kill you, a world of demons and knives in the dark and wars fought from behind the doors of the rich, Jordan's gentle Oxford upbringing isn't quite sufficient preparation. Instantly a pawn in a deadly game, separated from his sister and watched from the shadows by an assassin with a vendetta, he finds himself in the company of an Unspoken who has an uncanny knack for finding the Gifted - and Jordan can't seem to get rid of him. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © SEHarrison/Elinor Harrison *This book has previously been partly stolen and published on Amazon without my permission. I only post my work on Wattpad - please notify me if you find it anywhere else! Thank you.* The gorgeous cover is by Acacia H. - Caysaaaa on Wattpad!

****Copyrighted**** 'Tell me you don't feel it.' He whispered against my lips, and the trembling that had ceased at the feel of his lips against mine began again with renewed vigor. 'Tell me it's not what you want, and I'll go. You'll never have to see me again.' Swallowing, I looked up at the eyes that had entranced me from the start. I took in his every feature, slowly and deliberately. I thrilled at the feeling of his arms enfolding me, and I inhaled his familiar scent with a trembling breath. And then, then I did the most foolish thing imaginable: I flung my arms about his neck and kissed him with all that I had, almost losing myself in the safety and security I felt. But more than that, I ran. I took his moment of shock, the slight loosing of his arms about me, and tore myself away from him, shoving out the door and into the rain. I suppose I'll never know why he didn't follow me. It was the thing I feared most. I knew that if he came for me a second time, I wouldn't be able to say 'no'. I wouldn't be able to run. But I had to. I had to go. I couldn't let him be hurt because of me. He would live on now, and I would marry another. I had leased my last bit of passion in that one moment in his arms, and as I made my way through the dark streets, I felt myself become dull and lost like the creatures bound in the menagerie. **Much of this was written when I was younger and then I came back later and finished it. There will likely be mistakes. Lots of them.