One drop of blood. A world of scorched secrets. A destiny she never asked to rule.

Gwen Carmel has spent her life hidden in the safety of the pines, sheltered by a father who swore to keep the world away. But on the eve of her eighteenth birthday, a mandatory BloodRite test shatters her anonymity, revealing a royal curse whispered in legends: Gwen carries the Queen Gene.

Traded like a pawn for protection, Gwen is delivered to the doorstep of Thor. the magnetic, golden-haired leader of the rebellion in the fortress of Avalon. While Thor promises freedom, his world is one of high-stakes war and poisoned ancient technology.

As the blackened, charred ruins of Camelot loom over the horizon, Gwen discovers she is caught in a lethal family crossfire. Her own half-brother, the cruel Caesar Rex, will stop at nothing to possess the sister who can legitimize his bloody crown.

To save the only family she has left and protect the man she is beginning to love, Gwen must choose: stay a girl of the forest or become the queen who finally brings peace to the ashes.