To Rule & To Ruin

In a court ruled by secrets and spectacle, Grand Duchess Valeria Dorneaux stands above them all-untouchable, unbending, and ice-cold. Feared by nobles and respected by kings, she moves through the palace like a queen without a crown, cutting down sycophants and suitors with a single glance. But everything shifts the night she catches an assassin in her grasp-and meets a stranger cloaked in laughter and mystery on the palace balcony.

The woman appears like a shadow: uninvited, unafraid, and maddeningly amused by Valeria's disdain. She speaks in riddles, disappears like smoke, and somehow slips past the duchess's carefully built defenses. What begins as a battle of wit and will soon becomes something far more dangerous.

Because in this game of masks and manipulation, every move matters-and the queen isn't the only one who knows how to play.