Selene Vale

Rosalie Ashcombe's tears turn into jewels-and everyone in Asterwyne has learned how to make her cry. Raised as a grateful ward in the glittering Wrenley household, Rosalie has been dressed, praised, displayed, and quietly broken for one sacred purpose: to produce Tear-Jewels, rare gems born from grief and used to light a kingdom. On the night of her engagement presentation, her future is laid out like property.
Her jewels are counted. Her suffering is blessed. Her bridegroom smiles politely while the court waits for one more perfect tear. Then the Ash-Crowned King enters the ballroom. Bastian wears a crown without a single jewel, rules a palace built on secrets, and refuses to treat Rosalie's pain as treasure. Under his protection, she is taken from one beautiful cage into another world of royal law, hidden records, dangerous priestesses, and whispers about what Tear-Jewels truly cost.
But freedom is not simple when an entire kingdom depends on the magic made from women's sorrow. As Rosalie uncovers the lies surrounding her mother, the White Basin, and the jewels that have controlled her life, she must decide what she is willing to risk for the truth. Bastian may be the first man who does not want to own her tears-but trusting a king can be its own kind of danger. A dark fantasy romance filled with gothic court intrigue, forbidden royal tension, stolen inheritance, sacred magic, and a slow-burn bond between a wounded bride and the king who would rather see his kingdom go dark than force her to weep.
Can a girl raised to be used become the one person powerful enough to break the system that made her sacred?