The Sapphire Eruption, Paperback/I. M. Redwright

Four kingdoms in a fragile truce around the Void. Four weapons, each emblazoned with the sacred power of one of Earth's elements-air, water, fire, earth. Each weapon forged with the mythic power to choose the heir to its throne. In a lost village in the Aquadom, young Noakhail arduously trains to learn the art of the sword. As a baby, on a day the sky turned red, Noakh was chosen to be the Ascendant Phoenix, king of Firia, the Fire Kingdom-a fate he remains unaware of. His parents missing, he lives as an outcast with Lumio, his stepfather, until the day Lumio gives him one of the two legendary fire swords whose powers have chosen Noakh to be the heir to Firia. For the time has come for Noakh to return to his homeland to claim the throne.Even as Noakh begins his ascendency, a bevy of young, impatient princesses in the Aquadom-the queendom of water-perform the daily sword ritual: one day the water sword shall choose which princess will become the Lacrima, the rightful heiress of the queendom. Everyone expects the honor will fall to the eldest sister, Katienne. After all, she is just like her mother the queen. But will she be the sword's choice? And whomever the sword chooses, how will the new heiress address the rising threat of Noakh's ascendancy? The Sapphire Eruption is the stunning first volume in the intricate Sword's Choice series, a medieval fantasy saga unfolding in a harsh and vengeful world. It is a story of ambition and resolve set in an environment ruled by the elements. Here, Noakh's determination and Katienne's heartless desires threaten to upset the delicate harmony of a world where the flames of fire are countered by water's tides, and where air and earth hang in the balance.