Kingdom of Refuge

She is a princess who can never truly rule, he is a guard who can never be anything else. They both want more and will do whatever it takes to get it, even if it means almost starting a war between two of the most powerful kingdoms in the land.

Princess Ruby is the daughter of one of the most powerful kings in Saharia, and though her father constantly tells her he loves her, she still struggles with questions about who she is, as she can never quite fit in, not with her siblings and definitely not among the Aldorian people.

Deswald longs to be an Aldorian Knight, to march with Prince Jasper in defense of the kingdom and to one day avenge his father's death. But by the ways of the kingdom he will be never be anything more than a palace guard. Begrudgingly, he watches over princess Ruby and her sister and finds himself growing intrigued by her, if only she could see past his physical differences and social limitations.
The kingdom of Aldor is known as a safe haven for many, but for Ruby it is nothing but a prison. Despite the king's vow to provide refuge for the rejected, his kingdom is governed by laws that honor native blood over all others, leaving refugees like Deswald and aliens like Ruby with limited mobility within the kingdom. As such, Ruby has lived her life in the shadows of her siblings trying to never draw attention to her differences. But though she succeeds in keeping her differences hidden, she cannot hide her passion and wanderlust, until she makes a decision that sets her father's kingdom on a dangerous path to destruction.

Set in the fantastical world of Saharia, this story explores identity, family, love, faith and good conquering evil, in a setting that hopes to capture what it means to be a part of something bigger than oneself; a kingdom responsible for holding it all together.