Shield of Sparrows

“The gods sent monsters to the five kingdoms to remind mortals they must kneel.

I’ve spent my life kneeling–to their will and to my father’s.

As a princess, my only duty is to wear the crown and obey the king.

I was never meant to rule.

Never meant to fight.

And I was never supposed to be the daughter who sealed an ancient treaty with her own blood.

But that changed the fateful day I stepped into my father’s throne room.

The day a legendary monster hunter sailed to our shores.

The day a prince ruined my life.