Once Upon a Throne of Thorns

Ardenne's king is dead, and the country has been foundering ever since. The rightful heir to the throne, Prince Yuel, has gone missing - and, in his wake, a usurper has taken the throne.

The new king, Salim, is of lowly birth, and he is paranoid alongside it. Cold, ruthless, and hungry for power, Salim has been combing Ardenne for the missing prince, who he means to have put to a swift death. The country only needs one king, after all, and it could very well cost Salim his hard-earned throne should the prince resurface.

Six years have passed, however, since Yuel's disappearance, and nobody has seen hide nor hair of him. Tavi, Yuel's older cousin, and a deposed royal now in Salim's service, believes his younger cousin to have died, and he has since put the young man from his mind.