In this sweeping sapphic fantasy, a false seer elevates a reluctant princess to the throne.
A false seer. A reluctant queen. A mysterious healer.
False prophecies spill from Isolde’s lips, as demanded by her grandparents. They exploit her unique Bond with the divine blue-green phoenix for their own gain. After the high king perishes, Isolde seizes the opportunity to control her own voice by raising the unwilling Princess Arturia to the throne with a false prophecy and an enchanted sword.
When the Griffin Kingdom starts waging war, Arturia shuts herself away from the public. But if Arturia fails as a queen, then Isolde will lose her power and possibly her life. She spins lie after lie to try to hold everything together at court while forging a friendship with a mysterious healer named Tristan. Facing indifferent gods, ruthless politics, and heartbreaking betrayal, Isolde must decide if she is willing to sacrifice her hard-won agency for the queen who snuck into her heart.
The lyrical prose of Nina Varela's Crier's War meets he tragic beauty of Ava Reid's Fable for the End of the World in this sapphic retelling of Arthurian legend.
