Casting Shadows (Wrapped in the Rays of the Sun, #1)

Nora was always second fiddle to her older sister, Jayne. Older and prettier, Jayne received more attention from their father, King Gerald, and showered with honors and indulgences. Hardly noticed, Nora spent her time sword fighting, sitting with the servants and farming. She spent most of her time in the royal home of Dorth in the southern town of Brenton. She did not want to be near the monster King Gerald turned out to be.

Things drastically change when King Gerald dies. With no male heir, Jayne became Queen of Klenard. She does not readily name her sister as heir, though. Nora is trapped into her loyalty and treated like a prisoner.

After Jayne's coronation, war is declared. It is not the civil war looming, though. In the neighboring kingdom of Tommel, the girls' uncle, King Samuel, found his chance for a united land and used the rumors of the past to fuel his claim to the Klenard Crown. He sent propaganda in his quest for power, claiming that Jayne is a bastard and that Nora is too stupid to rule Klenard.

The call to war was swift. As she began to battle Tommel, the Queen's conscience immediately named for Nora's elimination. Accused of treason and faced with death, Nora flees, dressed as a man. She soon joins the Klenard Army and fights against Tommel.

It is not just a journey through destruction, banishment and accusations of treason that Nora has to shift through. She now has to decide what is best for Klenard. She grew up knowing that she had to make sacrifices for her homeland. Now was the time, for Nora will have to make the hardest decisions of her life.