Appraiser
She was raised to be a secret. Now she's about to become a reckoning.
At the royal court of Canberra-Vane, they call her the "Second Prince", sickly, unremarkable, easy to overlook. Exactly what she needs them to think. For years, Lyra has lived a lie stitched into her own skin: chest bound tight, veins full of suppressants that shouldn't even exist, all to bury one truth: she's an Omega, and she's not the son this throne was promised. One dose too late, one loose thread, and the entire fraud unravels along with her.
Everyone around her is playing a game. She's just playing it better than anyone gives her credit for.
Crown Prince Kaelan wants her gone and isn't subtle about it; every "accident," every closed-door meeting, is aimed at her. Ashford Vayne, the court's golden military heir, can't resist reminding her how weak she is, right up until the day he's forced to eat every word. Only Commander Ren Solari looks at her like he sees something the rest of the court doesn't: not a broken prince, but something coiled, patient, and dangerous.
He's right to be careful. While they've all been underestimating her, Lyra has been building alliances no one can trace back to her, secrets sharp enough to gut a dynasty, a quiet war fought one favor and one whispered threat at a time.
Then, at the imperial solstice gala, in front of everyone who ever looked past her, her suppressants fail. The mask comes off. The lie dies. What's underneath is worse than anyone imagined, and far more dangerous than she ever let herself hope.
Kaelan's throne turns to ash in his hands. Ashford chokes on his own cruelty. Ren realizes the mercy he once showed a "weak" prince may be the only reason he survives
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