Long ago, the gods unleashed monsters upon the five kingdoms of Calandra to remind us that humans are insignificant ? that we must pray to the gods for mercy throughout our fragile, fleeting lives. I didn?t need a deity to remind me I was powerless. Being a princess had never been more than a performance ? twenty-three years of empty titles and hollow traditions. Until the day an infamous monster hunter sailed to our shores. The day a prince walked into my father?s throne room and ruined my life. The day I married a stranger, signed a magical treaty, and set off across the continent to the most treacherous kingdom in all the realm. That was the day I learned that not all myths are make-believe. That lies and legends are often the same. And that the only way to kill the monsters we fear was to become one . . .