DROWN THE BONES

The spare heir to the throne must work with an enemy prince to discover who murdered her beloved twin brother in this slow-burn romantasy about questioning blind faith and what truly makes an enemy.

As the younger twin, Merridan has never minded being the "spare" to the Rothian royal throne. She knows her brother, Von, will be an excellent king, and she'd much rather spend her time devoted to the Goddess, using her magic faithfully to send recently deceased spirits from the holy lake on to the Afterworld. When her brother is murdered, she is certain their rivals in the Kingdom of Nova are to blame. After all, they're devoted to a false deity and use their Goddess-given magic to toy with necromancy using heathen rituals.

But under the Goddess's direction, the Diviners refuse to investigate Von's death. Desperate, Merridan takes matters into her own hands, using a forbidden ritual to speak to her brother's ghost. Only.Von's spirit isn't the one she pulls from the lake. Instead, she finds herself inexplicably bound to Phoenix Darragon, arrogant crown prince of Novawho was murdered the same night as Von. The prince makes Merridan a deal: if she takes his spirit back to his people to be resurrected, he will help her find her brother's killer.

But Phoenix is keeping secrets. And as the attraction between these rivals becomes undeniable, Merridan must decide whether the truth is worth the cost it demands.

Alexandra Kennington writes adult and young adult fantasy and science fiction novels. She lives in Utah with her spouse and child. When she's not knee-deep in a world of her own creation or reading a book with the enemies-to-lovers trope, you'll find her obsessing over Star Wars or sharing writing advice on TikTok.