The Solstice Cycle Series by Tay Rose

She spent her whole life craving freedom.Mariah had been preparing for this moment her entire life. Her twenty-first birthday was supposed to bring with it freedom — from expectation, from scrutiny, from the oppressive lord who reigns over her hometown. But when a letter arrives from the Queen summoning her to the capital for a ceremony that happens only once every few hundred years, she has no choice but to follow through on this final obligation before she can achieve her independence... moreShe spent her whole life craving freedom.Mariah had been preparing for this moment her entire life. Her twenty-first birthday was supposed to bring with it freedom — from expectation, from scrutiny, from the oppressive lord who reigns over her hometown. But when a letter arrives from the Queen summoning her to the capital for a ceremony that happens only once every few hundred years, she has no choice but to follow through on this final obligation before she can achieve her independence.What she did not anticipate, however, was being chosen for a future she doesn’t want or deserve.As Mariah is thrown into a world of cutthroat politics and ruthless power grabs, she is forced to come to terms with mysterious powers that both terrify her and that may hold the keys to saving a world that doesn’t even know it’s under siege. She also finds herself drawn to the brooding, disgraced son of a Lord, an unwilling member of her sworn guard, and the pull between them places Mariah in more danger than she can fathom. As they grow closer, uncovering the forgotten mysteries of their world and their gods, they begin to present a threat to the kingdom’s delicate balance of power…a threat that simply cannot be ignored.Love is a weakness. Mariah must never forget that. But will she fall prey to it, anyways? less

Those who burn the brightest, fall the hardest.Mariah Salis, Queen Apparent of Onita, has been betrayed by the one person she thought she could trust the most. Now a prisoner of the ruthless royals, she clings to the tattered threads of her soul as her hope wanes with each passing day. Back in the capital of Verith, Mariah’s friends and Armature search desperately for their missing queen... moreThose who burn the brightest, fall the hardest.Mariah Salis, Queen Apparent of Onita, has been betrayed by the one person she thought she could trust the most. Now a prisoner of the ruthless royals, she clings to the tattered threads of her soul as her hope wanes with each passing day. Back in the capital of Verith, Mariah’s friends and Armature search desperately for their missing queen. When a new threat sails in from the east and the city’s protective magic falters, they are forced to make an impossible choice: protect the many, or save the one.Meanwhile, a forgotten evil has begun to stir, unearthing ancient, terrible truths. As the lines between treachery and love grow less certain, Mariah must learn to trust in her power—and her heart.The fires of change are burning.The scourge of the earth is awake.Will Mariah be enough to save them, or will the world fall into darkness forever?SCOURGED, Book Two in the Solstice Cycle, is an epic adult fantasy romance perfect for fans of The Bridge Kingdom, The Plated Prisoner Series, and The Serpent & The Wings of Night, with a new world rich in magic, an all-human cast, multiple adult romances, a found family that struggles and forgives together, meddlesome gods, and dragons rumbling to life. less