Mbali_Xabela

The death of the High King’s only son initiates the King Trials; demanding the eldest pureblood from each Regnum. Aurora, the estranged and bastard-born daughter of Regnum Valwa, is the only female among eight other Herems. One of noble blood who lived her life in destitution, with her mother and her ill-stricken father and brother. She is blood-bound to compete in the King Trials on the bargain that if she represents Regnum Valwa, her father and brother will receive the treatment they so desperately need.

However, this is no easy feat, she is faced against ruthless rivals, dangerous mythological beings and creatures, forced to fight in bloody duels with an onslaught of death-defying challenges that forges a woman into a warrior; a scoundrel into a soldier. A chronicle of duty and bravery, a story brimming with riveting action, an enemies-to-lovers romance with war-provoking betrayals that reveal they are all pawns in a much larger game.

The King Trials: The Sajatai Saga

Primus Kelan and I take an imperial carriage to the city.

From there, we travel on foot. Just him and I, at last.

"Tell me, how did you come to know of this... festival of lights?" I ask.

He and I wander through the alleyways.

Gaggles of children swarm by, laughing, chasing one another.

"Before I was a Primus, a General, a Legatus," he begins solemnly. "I was a soldier like any other, and I have been posted at military compounds all throughout Urium, patrolling and dealing with border skirmishes. Many moons ago, I was stationed at a Vanguard garrison just east of Urla."

The currently vacant outpost.

"My squadron and I merely stumbled upon it on our way to an alehouse," he says. The edges of his face slightly softens at the recall. "After we drank, they sought out female championship. I left, and I found a garden bridge tucked away, with an outstanding view of the spectacle."

Chapter 38