A debut YA fantasy must-read for fans of The Winner''s Curse , What the River Knows , and This Woven Kingdom . When a maiden is selected to marry the emperor, her journey to the palace will see her fighting both a spark of magical power and her growing feelings for her broody escort in this romantic fantasy duology opener, inspired by a true story from the Inca empire. In the Amaru Empire, it''s considered an honor to be chosen for the annual harvest. But when guards stole Nina''s brother away, it devastated her family. So, when the guards returned for Nina''s sweet sister, she threw herself into their clutches instead. And Nina has spent every moment since then in the acllahuasi, a gilded cage where women are trained to become servants or wives. When Kasik, an obedient lieutenant in Amaru''s army, is sent to the acllahuasi to retrieve the emperor''s new wife, it''s only the promise of his own command--and a chance to escape his controlling father--that forces him to accept. Kasik has no reason to trust Nina, nor she to trust him. But, as they begin their journey, their chemistry is hard to ignore. Also hard to ignore? The tugging sensation of magic in Nina''s chest, awakening more questions than she can possibly answer as she travels with a handsome stranger to her unknown fate.

Autorentext

R.J. Valldeperas is a Peruvian Venezuelan writer living in South Florida with her husband and five children. She has experience in academics as a teacher and tutor and also in the creatives sphere as a photographer, content creator, and small shop owner selling custom-designed bookmarks. She enjoys writing fantasy and contemporary novels with characters that look like her and live in worlds steeped with culture. Visit her online at rjvalldeperas.com.

Klappentext

A debut YA fantasy must-read for fans of The Winner’s Curse, What the River Knows, and This Woven Kingdom.

When a maiden is selected to marry the emperor, her journey to the palace will see her fighting both a spark of magical power and her growing feelings for her broody escort in this romantic fantasy duology opener, inspired by a true story from the Inca empire. 

In Amaru, it is an honor to be chosen in the annual harvest and serve the gods'-favored emperor. Nina’s brother has already been chosen, but when the emperor’s men come a second time for her sister, Nina volunteers instead. She is taken to the acllahuasi, a gilded cage where women train to become servants or wives for the ruling class. It is there that a soldier comes to collect her, and Nina learns of her fate—to become a wife...to the emperor.

As the emperor's trusted friend and soldier, Kasik is ordered to retrieve Nina and deliver her untouched. But the emperor’s betrothed is not as he expected. The distrust between Nina and Kasik is thicker than the trees surrounding them, and Kasik’s honor is put to the test when their path back to the capitol leads them into dangerous territory. Their lives and hearts are in peril as forbidden desires are unearthed, along with a stirring of dark magic in Nina that inexplicably ties her to the gods. 

What begins as a simple task becomes a tense journey that forces Nina and Kasik to confront where their true loyalties lie—with the emperor and the fate of their people, or with the desires of their own hearts.