Scales and Flour

The Dragon Prince wears a crown he never wanted. Bound to a throne by blood, duty, and a loveless betrothal, Aerion is trapped in a golden prison-watched day and night by his ruthless parents and a bride who knows too much. Every step he takes is a performance. Every breath is a risk. But his heart is still outside the palace walls. In the far village where fire and flour once mingled, Pip tries to rebuild her life-alone. Scarred, hunted, and watched from the shadows, she knows her peace is an illusion. The empire never forgets its enemies... or its prince's weakness. When whispers of rebellion begin to stir across the fractured land-of a prince who might rise and a girl who once stood beside him-old powers awaken. Friendships will be tested. Bloodlines will be betrayed. And as the kingdom teeters on the edge of civil war, Pip and Aerion must decide if love is enough to defy fate... or if burning the world is the only way to be free. In a land ruled by fire and fear, they were never meant to survive. But some flames refuse to die.