When They Came Looking

For a century, the Nightmares slept.

Across the Arcanum Realm, kingdoms rebuilt, empires flourished, and the horrors of the past became nothing more than stories told to frighten children.
Then, on Princess Calista Ren Valorin's 21st birthday, the Nightmares returned.
At first, they appeared in distant empires. Then they came in groups. And when they finally crossed into the southernmost empire of the realm-the Valorin Empire-the royal family could no longer pretend the past was staying buried.
Unlike most princesses, she wasn't raised to simply smile, marry well, and sit pretty on a throne. Under the relentless training of her royal protector, Cairo Voss, and his sharp-tongued right hand, Kova Lys, Calista learned how to fight, survive, and think for herself. She thought she was ready for anything. She wasn't ready for the sirens.She wasn't ready to see the Nightmares flooding the grounds.
And she certainly wasn't ready to realize there were too many of them to fight.
With the royal estate falling and her parents' fate unknown, Calista is forced to do the one thing a princess should never have to do:
Run.
Her only chance of survival lies beyond Valorin's borders. But reaching another empire means crossing dark magical forests, treacherous waters, forbidden mountains, and caves that have a habit of eating their guests.
And the creatures lurking in the wild aren't the only things she has to fear.
Because along the way, Calista will discover that some monsters are not what the stories claim...
...and some people are far more dangerous than monsters.
With unlikely allies at her side, enemies closing in behind her, and secrets buried beneath the history of the Arcanum Realm, Calista must uncover the truth before the Nightmares reach the rest of the world.
Did her parents survive?
Did anyone else escape?
And perhaps the most terrifying question of all-- Why did the Nightmares wake up on her 21st birthday?