Crown Of The Dying Sun

The Valden Empire has endured for centuries beneath the rule of House Valden, an ancient red-haired dynasty blessed with the powerful Sunblood. But beneath its fertile lands, magnificent cities, noble houses, and magical institutions lies a ruthless society where blood determines authority, kindness is often political, and the nobility themselves are the law. Now, Emperor Alaric Valden approaches the final years of his reign without naming a successor. Five heirs stand beneath the Imperial Sun—three princes and two princesses, each born to a different mother, each backed by different houses, armies, scholars, foreign interests, and political factions. Valden tradition offers them no peaceful inheritance. Alaric himself survived a succession that killed nearly all of his siblings, and he expects his children to prove themselves the same way. Alliance, betrayal, assassination, marriage, war, and manipulation become weapons as the Empire slowly chooses sides. Only one heir can inherit the Sunblood Crown. And in Valden, the ruler is not expected to be kind. Only strong enough to keep the Empire.