Portrait of a King

by L.A. Buck

When Lyara, an artist with a fickle muse, falls for a royal soldier, she’s inspired to make her dreams of social change a reality.Avaron’s poor border towns live under constant threat from monsters her fellow socialites know only from text books. The reigning king refuses to defend his people, so she devises a scheme that might see her gallant soldier wear the crown. Failure means more senseless death—or an even more dastardly man taking the throne.Lyara’s optimistic. After all, it...