The King's faceless wife.

Trapped by an ancient illness, Lady Frost Sorrow lives shrouded by a veil, her true face a mystery, her touch a rumored curse. When a royal decree forces her into marriage with Prince Barlion, the Gold Land Kingdom's formidable heir, Frost must navigate a court filled with suspicion, disdain, and dark secrets. Will her marriage be a gilded cage, or will the truth behind her mask shatter the kingdom's deepest illusions?

The King's faceless wife.

Trapped by an ancient illness, Lady Frost Sorrow lives shrouded by a veil, her true face a mystery, her touch a rumored curse. When a royal decree forces her into marriage with Prince Barlion, the Gold Land Kingdom's formidable heir, Frost must navigate a court filled with suspicion, disdain, and dark secrets. Will her marriage be a gilded cage, or will the truth behind her mask shatter the kingdom's deepest illusions?

The carriage wheels rumbled, a steady, jarring rhythm against the cobblestones of the Gold Land Kingdom. Inside, Lady Frost Sorrow clutched her book to her chest, the leather binding cold beneath her fingers. Her handmaid, Mirra, sat beside her, a comforting presence in the suffocating silence.

Frost peered out the window, the thick cloth covering half her face muffling her breath against the glass. The bustling streets of the capital, a world she'd only ever glimpsed from behind the confines of her family's estate, stretched out before her. Each face that turned towards their approaching carriage was a fresh stab of anxiety, a reminder of the rumors that preceded her like a dark cloud.

"Everything will be okay," Mirra whispered, her voice a soft counterpoint to the growing din. But Frost knew it wouldn't. The castle loomed, an impossibly vast silhouette against the sky, a gilded cage awaiting its newest, most reluctant occupant.