Gemstone Royals: Kingdom of Refuge (Gemstone Royals, #1) (ePub)

She is a princess who must hide in the shadows, he is a guard who can never be anything else. They both want more and will do whatever it takes to get it, even if it means almost starting a war between two of the most powerful kingdoms in the land.

The kingdom of Aldor is known as a safe haven for many, but for Ruby it is nothing but a prison. Despite the king's vow to provide refuge for the rejected, his kingdom is governed by laws which value native blood over all others, leaving outsiders like Deswald and orphans like Ruby with limited mobility within the kingdom. As such, Ruby has lived her life in the shadows of her siblings trying to never draw attention to her differences. Though she succeeds in keeping her differences hidden, she cannot hide her passion and wanderlust. In her pursuit of freedom, she makes a decision that sets her father's kingdom on a dangerous path to destruction and brings her face to face with forces beyond her understanding. 

Can a troubled princess and an ambitious guard hold onto the beliefs of their kingdom in the midst of all they face? Will they finally commit to the fight against the dark prince and his evil plans for Saharia? Or will they succumb to the allure of a new kingdom and turn their backs on everything they have ever known just so they can belong?

Set in the fantastical world of Saharia, this story explores themes of identity, family, love, faith and good conquering evil, in a setting that hopes to capture what it means to be a part of something bigger than oneself; a kingdom responsible for holding it all together.