The Winter King

A Beauty and the Beast retelling.

In a cursed kingdom encased in eternal winter, a lone king rules. Ageless and impervious, nobody can stand up to the winter king as he roams the land, slaying villagers without rhyme or reason. Once a year, the king selects a young maiden to join him in the castle, never to be seen or heard from again. This cycle of terror has existed for as long as the townspeople of Snowmelt can remember.

Levia is an ugly and deformed young woman, the mockery of town. Brought up since infancy under the ealdorman's roof, she's always lived a lowly servant's life. The only person who has seen her as more than a hideous creature is Iridia, the brave, bold and beautiful daughter of the ealdorman.

When the winter king chooses Iridia to join him in the castle, Levia refuses to be left behind. The king acquiesces to her request to join Iridia, and Levia soon finds herself in the most dangerous place in the realm - the winter king's castle, where she learns that something ancient and far more maleficient lurks.