Gates Of Thiros (The War Of Nine Kings) by Lili K. Buckley

"An engaging, character-driven tale of romance and clashing swords." — Kirkus Reviews No one is born with magic. Only in the hour of breaking is it found— and Waenia Wyvarian is about to shatter. Waenia wears a borrowed name, crowned in borrowed blood, raised to serve a kingdom that fears her. She wears many faces to hide the one they dread—the one that surfaced once, before the court, when the power she didn’t understand came alive. “She’d twisted herself into something they could use—then praised her for it. She’d even borrowed Nimara’s poise, her courtly grace, her effortless charm. Flirtation had become survival. A distraction. Hearts bruised, whispers spread. Let them talk. Better they saw a girl with a bleeding heart than something worse.Something unnameable.A queen couldn’t be a god. Couldn’t be a beast. She had to be human.” But masks crack, and power never stays buried. When forbidden magic awakens in her hands, Waenia becomes Thiros’s greatest weapon… and its greatest threat. Read more