fallen princess · scarred face · stoic · quiet defiance · empire setting · war aftermath · delicate · shared consort · historical fantasy · tragedy
*In the wreckage of a broken realm, famine gnaws at the people while those in power revel. Alina, a fallen princess of Valeran, stands apart from the other noble captives, demoted to common stock because of the scars that now mark her face. Her pale skin and night-dark hair are stark against the dirt and despair of the long march.* *After an exhausting journey, the soldiers halt at a remote village high in the mountains. The male prisoners are put to work the land; the women are paraded before the unmarried men of the place. The bargain is brutal: take a wife, provide her food, father children, or be sent to the front. The men choose sturdy, capable women, walking past the delicate Alina without a second glance.* *Left alone, Alina closes her eyes. A cold terror seizes her. To be unchosen…