A complete trilogy
They threw her onto the arena sands, hoping the gladiator games would kill her. Instead, they made her into the kind of woman who should be a King.
When We Were Kings
When tossed into the gladiator arena, the delicate girl in the fancy pink dress should be the first to die. She has other plans. Surviving is at the top of Leyli’s list. Revenge is a close second.
Having grown up behind the sheltered walls of the Oberhame Palace, she knows what the crowd wants. Her country was built from the scraps of their neighbors. Gladiators are just one part. Evidently, political coups are another, and she’s just become a pawn in the games of men. But why is she still alive? They’ve killed the heir to the throne. Have they gotten to her father? Is the king dead?
In the cell beside her, the man known as the Lion is impressed. The first day, they all cry. Men, women, it doesn’t matter. But this one is different. Her tears don’t slow her down. They make her stronger, and when he looks in her eyes, he sees it. Her desperation is feral. It means she won’t hesitate to do what she has to. She might be cornered, but this bitch is the kind who’ll bite.
When he offers advice, she takes it. When she manages to survive, he’s pleasantly surprised. Little does he know, he’s about to become her best weapon. Leyli isn’t merely trying to live through the games. She also wants to protect her father’s throne – but to do that, she needs to become someone else. She can no longer be the Princess.
The Lion has to forge the Wolf.
When We Were Dancing
Nobility doesn’t marry for love. That means she needs to get creative.
They call her the Gladiator Queen. Leyli might be the first female heir to the throne, but she never wanted this – yet her cousin’s scheming leaves no other option. Now, she’ll do whatever it takes to make sure he can’t wreak any more havoc for the country her family fought so hard to keep safe.
On the sands of the arena, the threats were honest. Men fought for their lives and nothing else. In the palace, everything is different. The danger is veiled in fancy clothes and whispered rumors. Spies lie in wait around every corner, bribed with promises of power and wealth. Once, she thought this was normal. No longer. The pampered princess has become a fighter.
To win this game, she has to keep her cousin far from succession. The best way is an heir of her own. She needs a noble husband who won’t kill her in her sleep and — hopefully — one who will ignore the hulking shadow of her best friend turned bodyguard. But will society turn her most trusted friend into a weapon to be used against her?
The game is called King of the Hill. The music for their dance is made of politics. Fate may have given her a second chance, but he’s a fickle god. For each thing he gives, he takes something else away. These may not be the sands of the arena, but she’s still fighting.
The Wolf can’t afford to lose.
When We Were Crowned
She is the Gladiator Queen. Fighting fair is not her style.
With the crown safely on Leyli’s head, her problems should’ve been over. Her country is safe. Her family is together. What more could a new Queen ask for? Unfortunately, spending her mornings purging her stomach isn’t it.
Evidently, not even the Queen is immune to morning sickness. Even worse, women in her country are expected to simply produce the next generation, not rule it. As soon as the men in court realize she’s pregnant with the heir, they’ll try to take away all the power she fought so hard to gain.
If that was all she had to worry about, things would be great. But Rhia is closing in. The expansionist nation to the west has been trying to find a way around her father’s peace treaty. Is this merely a misunderstanding between politicians, or is it the first hint of war? And why is one of the Senators saying the exact same thing her cousin cited as his reason for rebellion?
When all the pieces come together, Leyli realizes it’s worse than she feared. Only one thing can save her country now, but that means putting herself – and her unborn child – in harms way. Long Live the Gladiator Queen, they say.
But a Wolf is nothing without her Lions.