Cursed at birth. Hated in life. Struck by fate. Princess Ediline knows she will never amount to anything. She's been told as much all her life-not that she lets the relentless scorn stop her from trying, or from mouthing off to her cruel siblings. But when her kingdom is threatened by a man who wields a deadly magical relic, she doesn't expect her mother to come to her for help. Suddenly, Ediline is living a lie, ordered to charm the mysterious Javras, a visitor to her kingdom and son of the man who wants to kill her family. To maintain the charade, she must summon all her innate charisma-and elegantly navigate her conflicted feelings. But she knows that if she follows her family's wishes, they will only do what it takes to save themselves. If she wants to save her kingdom and survive, she must take power that someone of her birth has no right to wield.