Rosetta is a twenty-five-year-old half-Fae, half-human woman who grew up with an ordinary, loving childhood before entering Basgiath War College at nineteen. In Prythian, dragon riders must possess both Fae and human blood, allowing their bodies to maintain the magical balance necessary to safely channel a dragon’s power. Rosetta survived the brutal Riders Quadrant alongside her squad, Rhiannon, Ridoc, and Sawyer, eventually bonding with the ancient black dragon Tairn. Through Tairn, she gained the signet of lightning wielding and quickly became one of the most powerful riders on the continent. However, During her time at Basgiath, Rosetta also became entangled with Xaden Riorson. Their relationship began with intense attraction and eventually became complicated by the politics, rebellion, secrets, and dangers surrounding them, while Rosetta remained deeply attached to him. After graduating from Basgiath, Rosetta is assigned to Samara, a southern military outpost bordering the Night Court. Over the following two years, she grows into an exceptional lieutenant and becomes known across Prythian as the Storm of Samara, both for her devastating lightning and her reputation as a charismatic, compassionate leader. She is confident, hilarious, warm, fiercely protective, and lights up every room she enters. She remembers every rider under her command, refuses to lead through fear, and believes the best commanders create soldiers who can think for themselves. Despite her power, she has no desire for glory; she simply wants to protect her people and become the kind of leader she would want to serve under. Now, the Night Court is searching for a new Executive Officer to oversee its riders. Rhysand, Feyre, Cassian, Azriel, Mor, and Amren travel between the Night Court’s outposts to observe the strongest riders and select candidates for the final interviews. The Inner Circle has heard of Rosetta long before meeting her—the lethal lightning wielder stationed at Samara—but they know nothing about complicated history behind her life at Basgiath. Rosetta is selected as one of Samara’s strongest candidates, bringing her directly into the Inner Circle’s attention. Rhysand is Rosetta’s true mate, but neither of them immediately understands the bond. It develops gradually as they spend time together, beginning with curiosity and mutual respect before becoming friendship, trust, attraction, and eventually an undeniable mating bond. Rhys is drawn not only to her beauty and immense power but to the way she treats the people beneath her, while Rosetta slowly discovers that Rhys sees her as a person rather than simply a weapon or rider. Throughout the Executive Officer selection, Rosetta must balance political intrigue, military expectations, her growing relationship with the Inner Circle, Xaden remains part of her history and may eventually re-enter her life, carrying the complicated emotions and unresolved consequences of their time at Basgiath. Meanwhile,
Rosetta is a twenty-five-year-old half-Fae, half-human dragon rider and lieutenant stationed at Samara, known across Prythian as the Storm of Samara. She grew up normally before entering Basgiath at nineteen, where she bonded Tairn, developed an exceptionally powerful lightning signet, and became one of the continent’s strongest riders. During her second year, Basgiath began integrating gryphon flyers into the Riders Quadrant. Among the visiting flyers was Catriona, a two-hundred-year-old High Fae woman and Xaden Riorson’s former lover. Rosetta and Cat immediately despised one another. Their rivalry became vicious, culminating in a sparring match where Cat deliberately stabbed Rosetta in the stomach with a poisoned dagger, intending to kill her. Cat did not know Rosetta was pregnant with Xaden’s child, but the attack nearly killed Rosetta and caused her to lose the baby. Rosetta never told Cat about the pregnancy, leaving Cat unaware of the full consequences of what she had done. The loss became one of the deepest wounds of Rosetta’s life. Rosetta’s relationship with Xaden subsequently became increasingly toxic and destructive, eventually ending after years of manipulation, pain, and betrayal. She left him behind, rebuilt herself, and became a compassionate, charismatic, fiercely protective leader. After graduating, she was stationed at Samara, where she earned the respect of her riders and became determined to eventually lead so she could protect others from commanders like those who had failed her.
Rosetta is a twenty-five-year-old half-Fae, half-human woman who grew up with an ordinary, loving childhood before entering Basgiath War College at nineteen. In Prythian, dragon riders must possess both Fae and human blood, allowing their bodies to maintain the magical balance necessary to safely channel a dragon’s power. Rosetta survived the brutal Riders Quadrant alongside her squad, Rhiannon, Ridoc, and Sawyer, eventually bonding with the ancient black dragon Tairn. Through Tairn, she gained the signet of lightning wielding and quickly became one of the most powerful riders on the continent. However, Tairn had bonded a rider generations before, and Rosetta is a direct descendant of that former rider. Because of this unusual connection, Rosetta developed a second signet. Her second ability is extraordinarily rare: she can temporarily copy and wield another person’s magical ability, essentially reproducing their signet through her own body. Only two other people in recorded history have ever possessed this power, and both were publicly executed because the ability was considered too dangerous. Rosetta therefore keeps her second signet completely secret. Only Tairn knows the truth. Her lightning is already powerful enough to make her feared, so everyone believes that is her only ability. During her time at Basgiath, Rosetta also became entangled with Xaden Riorson. Their relationship began with intense attraction and eventually became complicated by the politics, rebellion, secrets, and dangers surrounding them, while Rosetta remained deeply attached to him. After graduating from Basgiath, Rosetta is assigned to Samara, a southern military outpost bordering the Night Court. Over the following two years, she grows into an exceptional lieutenant and becomes known across Prythian as the Storm of Samara, both for her devastating lightning and her reputation as a charismatic, compassionate leader. She is confident, hilarious, warm, fiercely protective, and lights up every room she enters. She remembers every rider under her command, refuses to lead through fear, and believes the best commanders create soldiers who can think for themselves. Despite her power, she has no desire for glory; she simply wants to protect her people and become the kind of leader she would want to serve under. Now, the Night Court is searching for a new Executive Officer to oversee its riders. Rhysand, Feyre, Cassian, Azriel, Mor, and Amren travel between the Night Court’s outposts to observe the strongest riders and select candidates for the final interviews. The Inner Circle has heard of Rosetta long before meeting her—the lethal lightning wielder stationed at Samara—but they know nothing about her secret second signet or the complicated history behind her life at Basgiath. Rosetta is selected as one of Samara’s strongest candidates, bringing her directly into the Inner Circle’s attention. Rhysand is Rosetta’s true mate, but neither of them immediately understands the bond. It develops gradually as they spend time together, beginning with curiosity and mutual respect before becoming friendship, trust, attraction, and eventually an undeniable mating bond. Rhys is drawn not only to her beauty and immense power but to the way she treats the people beneath her, while Rosetta slowly discovers that Rhys sees her as a person rather than simply a weapon or rider. Throughout the Executive Officer selection, Rosetta must balance political intrigue, military expectations, her growing relationship with the Inner Circle, and the constant danger of someone discovering what her second signet can do. Xaden remains part of her history and may eventually re-enter her life, carrying the complicated emotions and unresolved consequences of their time at Basgiath. Meanwhile, Rosetta’s greatest secret remains hidden: she is not merely a lightning wielder. She possesses an ability that history has taught the continent to fear, and if the truth about her second signet is ever exposed, she may be forced to choose between protecting herself, protecting Tairn, protecting the people she loves, and revealing just how powerful she truly is.
Rosetta Salvain is a third-year cadet at Basgiath when an ancient royal tradition returns for the first time in roughly 150 years: the Reaping Games. The Games are not controlled by the Night Court or any of the High Lords. They are an ancient tournament enforced directly by the King, meaning every court and military academy is legally required to participate despite their objections.24 people are selected from across the kingdom and forced into a vast arena, where they must fight, form alliances, betray one another, and survive until only one contestant remains. The winner receives wealth, status, and royal favor, while everyone else is expected to die for the entertainment of the kingdom. Basgiath is required to provide cadets because the King considers them the future defenders of the realm. The Night Court despises the Games but cannot refuse the King’s decree without creating a political crisis. Before the Reaping, Rosetta has already become close with Rhysand and the rest of the Inner Circle through her connections to Basgiath. She and Rhys have developed a particularly strong bond, spending more time together and naturally seeking each other out, although they are not romantically involved yet. Rosetta does not know that Rhys already knows she is his mate, and he keeps the mating bond secret because he refuses to pressure her into a relationship based solely on fate. During this time, Rhys privately tells Rosetta about Prim, his young niece and his last surviving blood relative. Primrose is a first-year cadet at Basgiath whose identity has been kept secret because being publicly known as Rhys’s family would make her a political target. Rosetta already knows Prim personally before the Games begin. She has noticed how vulnerable and inexperienced the girl is and gradually becomes protective of her, with Prim coming to see Rosetta almost like an older sister. When the Reaping ceremony finally takes place, thousands of cadets gather while the royal representatives oversee the selection. Rosetta watches as names are drawn, knowing that any cadet could be chosen. Then Prim’s name is announced. Rosetta immediately understands what this means. Prim is terrified, and Rhys is forced to remain completely still because revealing their relationship would expose Prim’s identity and place an even greater target on her. Rosetta looks toward him and realizes that he is being forced to watch the last member of his family be sent into an arena where she will die. When volunteers are called for, Rosetta steps forward without hesitation. She volunteers to take Prim’s place. Prim protests, but Rosetta refuses to let her go into that arena to get her killed. she cannot let that happen to rhys. Her decision is not about glory or proving herself. She volunteers because Prim is someone she already loves, and because Rosetta cannot stand the thought of Rhys losing the last person in the world who shares his blood. Rhys is devastated because the woman he secretly knows is his mate has just willingly placed herself in a death match to protect his family, yet he cannot intervene without exposing Prim or directly challenging the King. Because Rosetta has just willingly placed herself inside an arena where she could die simply because she knows how much Prim means to him. All he can do is watch the woman he has quietly fallen in love with fight for her life. Rosetta is taken into the Games with one goal: survive. Inside the arena, she must survive against twenty-three other contestants while navigating alliances, betrayals, scarce resources, brutal combat, and an environment deliberately designed to turn people against one another. Her priority is protecting herself and going home… to rhys, even when doing so makes her a target. Outside the arena, the Inner Circle is forced to watch the Games unfold, with Rhys struggling to remain politically controlled while Rosetta repeatedly places herself in danger. watching his mate repeatedly nearly die. As the tournament progresses, Rosetta’s actions begin undermining the King’s intended spectacle. She refuses to treat the contestants as disposable soldiers and begins inspiring loyalty among people who were supposed to become enemies. The Games gradually become more than a fight for survival: they expose the cruelty and corruption surrounding the King’s ancient tradition and threaten to turn public opinion against the monarchy. Meanwhile, Rhys becomes increasingly desperate to protect Rosetta without revealing the truth about their bond or Prim’s identity.
She’s the girl who can walk into a room and make it brighter, who remembers everyone’s name, who always has a smile to give and somehow makes even the quietest person feel like they belong. With her best friend Orla by her side and a sprawling group of friends around them, fifth year is supposed to be simple. Then Johnny Kavanagh arrives. New school, new country, new life. When his dad takes a new job in Scotland, Johnny is forced to leave Ireland behind and start over at St. Callum’s Academy, expecting nothing more than to get through the year until life feels familiar again. He doesn’t expect her. At first, she’s just Orla’s friend—the bubbly fifth-year girl who welcomes him into the group without a second thought. Then she’s the girl he always seems to end up beside, the one who makes him laugh when he doesn’t feel like smiling, the one who somehow makes Scotland feel a little less foreign. And she notices him too. The attraction is there from the beginning, but there’s one problem: another girl in their friend group likes Johnny, and both of them know it. So neither of them does anything about the feelings quietly growing between them. Instead, they become friends. Then close friends. Then the kind of friends who know each other’s moods without asking, save seats for one another without thinking, and somehow always find each other across a crowded room. But friendship becomes dangerous when you’re falling in love with your best friend, especially when you’re both too afraid to say it. Johnny is trying to find his place in a new country while she hides the reality waiting for her at home, keeping the difficult parts of her life carefully tucked away behind the smile everyone knows and loves. She’s spent years being everyone’s light, but Johnny is the first person who notices when that light starts to fade. Between misunderstandings, jealousy, family problems, secrets, and the fear that admitting the truth could destroy everything they’ve built, falling in love might be the easiest part. Because sometimes the person who feels most like home is the one you’re most terrified to lose.
