Whispers of the Elixir (Order of the Ember, #1)

**2026 REALM AWARDS FINALIST**

A matriarchal empire.
A princess with forbidden magic.
A mother who would kill to protect her own legacy.

Princess Tori has been hiding a dangerous secret since childhood: a forbidden elemental magic tied to the world’s mythic past. If her mother, Empress Zinchen, discovers the truth, Tori will face death by saw.

And now that magic refuses to stay hidden.

Haunted by this threat, Tori flees into Peach Blossom Grove—an ancient realm of ghost-flowers, sentient forests, and immortals from a half-remembered age. Here, trials force her to confront her pride and fear as she struggles to free herself of the magic she deplores.

But when the empress’s plans for a devastating war threaten the people Tori loves, she must choose: bury the power that could save them, or embrace it and lose everything—her identity, her mother’s love, her life.

Whispers of the Elixir begins the Order of the Ember series—a character-driven epic of legacy, sacrifice, and the strength of a princess destined to rise from the shadows and claim her place in legend.

For readers who love the political intrigue of Andrea Stewart, the immersive worldbuilding of Patrick Rothfuss, and the emotional weight of M.L. Wang.

“Full of strong female characters and nuanced magical properties that go beyond the standard fare of wizards and mages. A fresh spin on the genre and a promising launch of a new universe.” — BlueInk Review