Beauty in Ruins

An enthralling dark fantasy inspired by the Chinese Zodiac—where a lethal dancer is sent to assassinate the Dragon King, only to discover that no beauty can hide the rot of empire. Beautiful, cunning Lady Soryan Anya of House Snake arrives at the opulent Zodiac court to compete for the title of the empire’s greatest fan dancer - and to win the hand of its handsome, arrogant king. Every lady of the Zodiac dreams of becoming his bride. Anya plans to kill him. Raised alongside her orphaned sisters by the Unnamed, a secret order of assassins, Anya has been entrusted with one final mission: find the Aether Seed, the source of the empire’s power, and kill the king. Her own life will be forfeit, but her sisters will finally be free. As will her people, long subjugated under Zodiac rule. But nothing is as it should be in the palace. The Aether Seed is nowhere to be found; King Alexandre is as beautiful as the bards say, yet something sinister stirs beneath his perfect façade. And someone is leaving Anya anonymous notes suggesting her identity isn’t so secret after all. As Anya delves deeper into the palace’s secrets, and draws dangerously close to the king, she begins to uncover a history at odds with everything she has been taught. Now, Anya must decide how far she is willing to go to save those she loves—and whether she came to the palace to slay a monster, or to become one.