bride of vengeance
The City of Bones.
I'd heard the name only once before, years ago, back when I still believed the world ended at the edge of the palace gardens. A traveler had passed through in winter, drunk on cheap wine and colder nights, and he'd sat by the kitchen fire telling stories to anyone who'd listen. Most of what he said had been forgotten by morning — travelers always exaggerated, everyone knew that.
But one story had stayed with me.
A city swallowed by the earth, he'd said, voice low, eyes darting toward the shadows like even speaking the name might summon something. A city cursed by gods who no longer had names anyone remembered. A city nobody who entered ever returned from.