Thorns & Thrones
THORNS & THRONES
Book One: EMBERS
Welcome.
Before we get into crowns, magic, mistakes, and everything that goes wrong after, let me say this first-you're safe here. Take a breath. There's no rush. This story isn't going anywhere, and neither are you.
Thorns & Thrones is not a small series. It's a long road, built piece by piece, meant to be walked slowly. If you're the kind of reader who likes quick endings and fast unfolding stuff, this series might test your patience a little. But if you like stories that grow, crack, and evolve over time-then you're exactly where you're supposed to be.
This series takes place in a magical universe that I'll be returning to again and again. The main realm you'll meet here is called Lemus. It is a world shaped by power structures, belief systems, old magic, religions, lot of diversity and people trying very hard to survive inside them.
A map of Lemus is attached. It's there to help, not to overwhelm. You don't need to memorize it. Just know that this world has borders, and crossing them always costs something.
Embers is the first step into this universe.
This book introduces you to the main characters, the foundations of the magic system, and the kind of story you're signing up for. Think of it as the spark-small, dangerous, and impossible to put back once it catches.
You don't need to know everything right now. You're not supposed to. The world will explain itself in time.
What This Book Is (and Isn't)
Embers is not about perfection.
It's not about heroes who always know the right thing to do.
It is about:
power showing up where it's least convenient bonds that don't ask permission choices made under pressure and people realizing, a little too late, that control is an illusion
There will be softness here. There will also be fire. Sometimes in the same scene.
Synopsis
A kingdom built on obedience.
A princess expected to endure.
A guard trained never to want.
When Princess Lysandra refuses a future chosen for her, the consequences are swift and unforgiving. Stripped of her status and placed under watch, she is bound-by law, magic, and circumstance-to Daniel, a guard whose loyalty has always been his shield.
Daniel's magic is unstable, dangerous, and largely uncontrollable. He survives through discipline, not power. But as unseen forces begin to move and rituals awaken something neither of them understands, restraint becomes impossible.
What begins as protection turns into something far more volatile-a bond that threatens not just their lives, but the fragile balance of Lemus itself.
Embers is a story of beginnings that burn, truths that arrive too early, and a connection powerful enough to be feared.
Before You Begin
A few things, just so we're clear.
This series is planned to be long. There are multiple books, multiple arcs, and eventually, other worlds within the same universe-some separate, some quietly connected. I won't be working on those other stories anytime soon. Right now, my focus is here. On getting this one right.
The goal is to have the entire Thorns & Thrones series first-drafted within the next two years.
Will it be easy? No.
Will I rewrite things more times than strictly necessary? Almost definitely.
But for the first time, I'm doing something different. I'm outlining. I'm planning. I'm trusting the process instead of fighting it. And somehow-miraculously-that makes this whole thing feel possible.
So if you're here from the beginning, thank you.
If you found this later, welcome anyway.
Either way, I hope you stay.
Settle in.
The fire starts small.
- Your Ethereal Lover
Seraphina Liraen
