Abigail Ashhurst thought she’d left her family’s violent legacy behind when she fled to a distant desert kingdom after her warlord mother’s downfall. But anonymity came at a cost—gambling debts she couldn’t pay. Now, in service of the powerful jinn Dreadlord Mehnid Kyfaz, Abigail works as his accountant, untangling his finances as she balances extravagant torture-pit spending with ambitious transport projects and ministers allergic to fiscal oversight.

 

Abigail’s tenuous existence shatters when the dreadlord announces plans to invade a neighboring land—just a week before the annual state tribute is due. As she scrambles to fill the Treasury’s vault with gold to fund the mysterious war, something ancient and vengeful stirs in the desert, striking down aristocratic jinn and volatile satyr alike. With whispers of rebellion and suspicion of sabotage swirling, Abigail must thread a perilous needle: enabling her dreadlord’s ambitions without drawing the ire of the forces that would see his regime fall.

 

But with each step she takes, the more Abigail realises survival may require summoning the very darkness she fled. Failure means soul imprisonment—or worse. Success, however, could mean losing the new life she’s worked so hard to create.

 

Balancing the books never looked this bad.