The Winter Court. Crown and Oath, #1

In the Kingdom of Aelefort, peace has endured for a generation under the steady hand of King Aurel. But age is an enemy no ruler can defeat, and as the King's health begins to fail, the kingdom quietly prepares for the day his crown must pass to another. Captain Rowan has spent twenty years serving the throne with unwavering loyalty. Raised from obscurity by Thaurel's kindness, he believes that duty is simple: obey the Crown, protect the realm, and trust the wisdom of a good king.
Yet as the court gathers around the aging monarch, old rivalries deepen and loyalties begin to shift. The heir, Prince Thorian, is brilliant, ambitious, and haunted by the belief that he has never truly earned his father's love. His younger brother, Prince Thothrik, possesses the compassion that wins hearts but not necessarily the resolve to rule. Between them stands a kingdom where every conversation carries political weight, every silence conceals uncertainty, and every choice shapes the future.
As rumors spread through the court and the shadow of succession grows longer, Rowan finds himself caught between the oath he swore and the ideals the dying king devoted his life to protecting. The greatest threat to the realm may not come from enemies beyond its borders, but from the impossible choices waiting within its own walls. Rich with political intrigue, moral complexity, and deeply human characters, The Winter Court is the opening novel of the Crown and Oath dilogy, a story of loyalty, inheritance, and the quiet moments that determine the fate of a kingdom.