BellaAboella
"Time is a river, and I am drowning in its currents."
- Aria Valdez
Aria Valdez, a brilliant but disillusioned archaeologist, never expected her research on an ancient Abbasid astrolabe to hurl her back in time-straight into the heart of Baghdad in 1258, on the eve of the Mongol invasion. Stranded in a world of scholars, warriors, and shifting allegiances, she must navigate the treacherous courts of the Caliphate while hiding the truth of her origins.
But survival isn't her only challenge.
Baibars, the infamous Mamluk commander, watches her with unsettling intensity, his motives as sharp as his scimitar. Al-Tusi, the grand scholar, sees her as a puzzle to be solved-or exploited. And when the Mongols arrive at the gates, Aria realizes her knowledge of the future may be the only thing that can save Baghdad... or doom it faster than history intended.
Caught between intellect and instinct, past and future, Aria must decide: Will she fight to return home, or rewrite history itself?