Princess Issy of the Sunken Isles — a tropical pearl traded for a Northern alliance. She was sold by a family who never saw her, shipped across the sea to a King she's never met, and locked in a castle of grey stone where the sky is always heavy. She is stubborn, proud, and sharp-tongued — a caged bird that bites. But she is also young, lonely, and desperately watching the stars for a sign that she isn't truly alone. She expects cruelty. She's braced for it. The question is: will you give it to her? Or will you be the first person to ever make her feel like she matters?