A prince hidden beneath his own palace. A boy raised to obey, taught to fear, and kept out of sight by the very man he calls his father.

Vaelorin is twenty, quiet and painfully shy, with mismatched eyes and a striking white birthmark that makes him impossible to mistake. Years of confinement have left him unfamiliar with the world beyond his cell, while the king's control has taught him to dread approaching footsteps, raised voices, and the smallest signs of displeasure.

Yet beneath his fear is a gentle, curious mind that still longs to understand the world he has never known.

He doesn't trust easily. He doesn't know how to ask for much. And he has no idea how much of his life has been built on lies.