Astaris: Ascension Trials
Frances Bradley
She was born without wings in a world built on flight.
In the vertical city of Astaris, wings determine everything: power, status, whether you live or die. Kira has none. What she does have is a hunter's instincts, a talent for reading people who'd rather stay hidden, and the kind of stubbornness that gets mistaken for a death wish.
When she enters the Ascension Trials, a brutal competition designed to cull the weak and crown the worthy, she knows the odds. She enters anyway.
She doesn't expect him to notice.
Crown Prince Ryn is everything she despises: cold, untouchable, apex predator in a court where reputation is built on blood and power is currency spent through fear. His silver wings mark him as the most dangerous thing in the room. He should dismiss her as nothing.
He can't stop watching.
As the trials grow deadlier and alliances fracture, Kira begins to see what she wasn't supposed to see. Cracks in the prince's cruelty. Glimpses of a man who understands the system better than anyone, and despises it just as deeply. But in Astaris, curiosity is a liability, trust is a weapon, and getting close to royalty is the fastest way to disappear.
She came to survive. She didn't come to matter.
The Ascension Trials is an addictive enemies-to-lovers fantasy romance for readers who loved Fourth Wing and The Cruel Prince, but want a heroine who climbs her way to the top without wings, and a prince whose armour costs him everything.
Book 1 of the Astaris Series.
* * * * * * *The Astaris Series
Book 1: The Ascension Trials, available now
Book 2: Rising Heirs, coming May 2026
Book 3: Sovereigns, coming Autumn 2026
Book 4: Desert Shadows, late 2026 / early 2027
Binge-ready romantasy for readers who need the next book quickly.
New instalments releasing throughout 2026 and into 2027 - follow Frances Bradley on Amazon to be notified the moment the next book drops.
