The mightiest swordsmen in the realm, they are bound by magic to defend their noble wards . . . to the death.

The unloved child of the unscrupulous King Ambrose, Princess Malinda learned at an early age to fight for what was rightfully hers. Now, with the King’s abrupt death, civil war has become her grim destiny. Making her uncertain way through the blood labyrinth of schemes and betrayals, Malinda can trust none but the Blades of the Royal Guard. But the Blades themselves are in grave peril. And the young Queen faces the most crucial decision of her life: a choice that will either redeem her kingdom from chaos . . . or bring ultimate destruction down upon it, her Blades, and herself.