When King Aric Raventhorne, the most feared ruler on the continent, announces a Selection to choose his future queen, noble families from across Elaris send their daughters to Blackspire Palace despite their terror of the tyrant king. Y/N Hawthorne, the sword-obsessed daughter of a minor frontier baron, wants nothing to do with crowns, courtship, or politics and intends to return home as soon as possible. Unfortunately for her, Aric chooses her almost immediately, igniting a storm of jealousy, ambition, and dangerous court intrigue as powerful nobles fight to keep a lowborn noblewoman from becoming their queen.