The Prince's Lash (Saga of the Eastern Crown Book 1)

Purchased by a dangerous, blood-thirsty Queen before she is even in her teens, Daniella joins the ranks of Queen Anca's "servantettes," charming and pampered young ladies-in-waiting. She uses her enchanting ways and cunning intellect to gain the Queen's favor and survive in a world gone mad.

But when she comes of age, Daniella must face the ceremony required of all new adults in the Court of the Queen of Persia: initiation at the hands of the Priest of Discipline into the Order Sangre. She prays she can prove herself well enough to survive the dark and erotic ritual.

But Daniella has a secret: her family still follows the Old Religion, and in a weak moment, she is unable to shield her mind from the probings of the Queen. Her worship at the Mass of her beloved Old Religion is discovered -an act of heresy punishable by death.

From her childhood, Daniella has loved the Imperial Prince of the Eastern Crown, son of the Empress Regina. He is the one person Daniella has ever seen Queen Anca bow before, and the Queen's fear of Nikolai is the only thing staying her hand from requiring the ultimate penalty of Daniella, whom she now regards as a heretic. He has promised to return and claim her as his agonie aperitiv-his 'appetizer" who derives pleasure from pain. He does return, but not before she experiences the greatest grief and loss in her short life. Worse, his rescue only delivers her to his mother, the Empress Regina, who insists she must birth an heir to the kingdom or be hanged.

In a world full of fear and horror and blood, love scalds her with arousal and longing but no relief. Is the Imperial Prince Nikolai her savior, or has he only delivered her to a hell filled with treachery, religious wars, and a kingdom ready to revolt? Will she ever know love and peace in her prince's arms?

Publisher's Note: Originally published as "The Vampire's Lash," by Nattie Jones, this darkly-erotic romantic adventure contains BDSM elements and some violence.