Around her, those she held most dear – Ava, Liam, Marcus – lay broken and motionless, victims of the ancient evil's wrath. Aria's heart constricted with a pain unlike any she had ever known, a searing anguish that threatened to consume her from within.

And yet, even as darkness crept in at the edges of her vision, even as the ancient evil loomed over her like a harbinger of doom, a spark of defiance flickered to life within her. She was Aria Voss, Queen of the Kingdom, a woman forged in the fires of adversity and tempered by the unwavering love she held for her people.

She would not surrender,...