Following his father's unjust treason accusation and execution, Ryker, heir to the Duke of Westerwyn, witnesses his world collapse. Left with his sister and mother, they teeter on the brink of catastrophe.
A glimmer of hope, however, arises as news circulates that the Cadilaria Empire's emperor plans to get his heir married—an enigmatic woman, shrouded in a half mask due to an alleged curse.
Given an unwelcome choice, the King compels Ryker to either wed the Masked Princess as the Duke of Westerwyn or face execution. Faced with this grave decision, Ryker, driven by the need to protect his family and restore honor, chooses to court the Masked Princess.
Determined to win her heart and avenge his father's demise, Ryker treads a perilous path, even if it means manipulating a potentially deadly royal ally.

The Masked Princess (Behind the Mask)

“That should be all of them.” Raquel huffed out as she smashed the monster egg with her sword.


She almost gagged at the horrid stench the egg gave off as she destroyed it. She was still not over it, despite slaying so many monsters. Raquel doubted she’d ever get used to the stench monsters gave off.


Ryker, who was packing away some monster eggs for the research lab, turned to her and nodded his head in understanding.


“Alright. Get some rest while I finish sorting this out.” Ryker stated. “I should be done in a few minutes… The labs are going to like the stuff we bring back.”


Raquel shook her head at his excitement before she took a swing of water from her waterskin. It had taken them several hours to clear out the monsters’ nest despite the cold weather giving them the upper hand. 


Raquel couldn’t believe there were so many monsters living in one nest. She must have slayed at least twelve dozen of those lizard monsters, along with hundreds of monster eggs.


Hunting Monsters (2)