"The shock on my face was real. It was probably the only time in the past two hundred years where a reaction was actually real, but I couldn't catch it soon enough this time. Of course, being her protégé came with the obvious assumption that I would soon succeed her, but I hadn't expected the fall of Hàlhein to speed the process up so quickly. If anything, I'd assumed she'd have even more reason to consolidate control Hronden and prevent any potential problems--such as myself--from getting in her way. Needless to say, she'd probably change her mind about me pretty soon--if this wasn't a set up. With Cyra, it was impossible to tell."
After the events of the Gate of Halhein, Terra is in chaos. Dracon's advances become more aggressive, while a mysterious Paradigm traverses the land and poses a major threat to the forces of wickedness. Cyra, supreme Empress of the Siren Empire, launches a fierce offensive to permanently alter the realities of the human world and completely consolidate power. Meanwhile, her protégé and successor, Savrina, embarks on a dangerous mission to cripple Cyra's empire from within. The Blue Rose meets the Red Witch in an epic showdown that will determine the course of Terra's future.
Henley agrees to pretend to date millionaire Bennett Calloway for a fee, falling in love as she wonders - how is he involved in her brother's false conviction?
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Henley Linden's brother is in jail for a crime he didn't commit, and she'll take any job to raise the money needed to free him. Soon, she's agreed to pretend to date millionaire Bennett Calloway for ten thousand dollars, so his mother will ease up the pressure on him to find a wife. But once Henley is enmeshed in Bennett's world, he falls for her, and she starts to have feelings for him as well. Despite her romance with Bennett, as she grows closer to the Calloways, Henley realizes they are somehow involved in her brother's conviction. Journeying deeper into a world of wealth and conspiracies, Henley is forced to rely on Bennett, though doing so could cost her everything.
[[word count: 200,000-250,000 words]]