Born a bastard to a king and a formidable amazon captain, raised in the shadow of her father's throne, sixteen-year-old Astar had to claim the crown through trial by combat.

She has ruled for only three months when treachery leads her into a devastating trap. Captured by former allies and the Sorceress Seluma, she finds herself chained in the Shadow Keep, a dungeon teeming with undead nightmares and eldritch abominations.

There, she discovers she's not the only captive. Hathan, a broken mage apprentice with haunted eyes, has been Seluma's prisoner and experimental subject for years. Once the apprentice of a great mage persecuted by Astar's father, he has every reason to hate her. Still, they have no choice but to form an unlikely alliance. With his forbidden magic and her unwavering courage, they must escape the labyrinth of horrors and race across enemy territory to reclaim a throne under siege—all before Seluma and her allies crush Astar's homeland forever.

But returning to reclaim her throne would be just the beginning. With dark magic threatening everything she holds dear, Astar must embrace the very power she was taught to fear. In a world where magic corrupts and trust is a luxury, can a bastard queen and a broken sorcerer save a kingdom?

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