Abigail Ashhurst was born to inherit a frozen empire. Unfortunately, she was cursed with both a conscience and a talent for accounting.

A lifelong disappointment to her ruthless dreadlord mother, Abigail fled the icy Arcane Tundra after a family tragedy left its throne drenched in ash and expectation. Now stuck in the blazing desert of the Timeless Sands with only Kovon, a deeply unhelpful frost sylph who lives under her sink.

Indentured into Dreadlord Kyfaz’s service after accruing gambling debts she couldn’t repay, Abigail’s job is simple in theory: refill Aarkand’s dangerously depleted treasury before the annual state tribute arrives. In practice, this means squeezing coin from squabbling dreadsworn houses, navigating ministers who treat fiscal responsibility as a personal attack, and preventing powerful jinn aristocrats from sabotaging one another long enough to pay their taxes.

Then the bodies begin appearing.

Demons are discovered butchered across the desert and its cities, marked with ancient ritualistic symbols no one dares discuss openly. Rumours of rebellion spread through Aarkand’s gilded court as fear tightens its grip on the capital. And with Dreadlord Kyfaz preparing for a mysterious invasion that threatens to drain the treasury dry, Abigail quickly realises someone is moving against the state from the shadows.

Unfortunately for her, being the only person capable of tracking the money also makes her dangerously good at uncovering conspiracies.

As political alliances fracture and the desert itself seems to whisper with something ancient and vengeful, Abigail must navigate murderous court intrigue, collapsing finances, and increasingly suspicious nobles, all while keeping her head attached to her body.

Because in the Timeless Sands, debt is rarely paid in gold.