Book 2 Surrounded by enemies within her own palace—her scheming mother-in-law, five treacherous step-brothers, and a husband who sees her as a threat—Irini knows that survival is not guaranteed. With childbirth looming, she summons the only person she can trust: Abbess Thekla, the knife-wielding woman who owes her a life debt. But Thekla soon realizes that Irini's ambitions reach far beyond being a dutiful wife and mother—she craves absolute power, and she will stop at nothing to seize it. As blood stains the marble halls of the Great Palace, Thekla must navigate a web of intrigue, deception, and vengeance. Can she survive Irini’s unrelenting thirst for dominance, or will she become just another casualty in the empress’s ruthless ascent? Loyalties will be tested. Betrayals will be paid in blood. The empire will never be the same.