TO RISE series, read the tensely seductive fourth instalment from Chloe C. Peñaranda. A trial of the heart, a test of reign, follow Nik and Tauria as their story continues where it left off in A Throne from the Ashes.

In a war of hearts, fates will be sealed. But in a battle of thrones, no bond may be truly unbreakable.

A COURT...

To reclaim her throne, Tauria leaves behind her safety to travel across courts. A marriage alliance with the prickly Prince of Olmstone could grant her the power to fight for her kingdom . . . or inspire a monarch's deadly vengeance that threatens all she holds dear.

A BOND...

No amount of distance can make Nik forget his desires, but caught in a torturous conflict of heart against duty, he's at risk of losing both. Now is the time to choose. Claim the bond and accept the prophesy that kept him from her all this time . . . or set his aching heart-and hers-free once and for all.

A DARKNESS...

But peace is never promised when the shadow of war looms, and Tauria's harrowing discoveries foretell a damning fate of evil to all those who bear a crown. To love may be to condemn, but to deny would be a far deadlier curse at the hands of the sinister forces intent on taking them down.