Power was never meant to be caged.
Leora was never meant to survive.
Branded a Red Witch-feared, untrained, and dangerously powerful-she was hidden her entire life behind her father's protection. But when he dies, the truth is revealed:
She is not a daughter.
She is a threat.
Betrayed by her own blood, stripped of her magic, and bound by a forbidden collar designed to silence witches, Leora is sold into the East-discarded like a weapon no one could control.
But they made one mistake.
They didn't break her.
Even without her magic, something ancient still stirs beneath her skin. Something stronger than fear. Stronger than chains. And far more dangerous than anyone realizes.
Now trapped in a foreign empire teetering on the edge of war, Leora must navigate power, politics, and those who would use her... or destroy her.
Because her magic isn't gone.
It's waiting.
And when it returns-
it won't ask for permission.