Adrian Hawke was once the Royal Guard’s most trusted commander, honored across Velaria—until the emperor’s fear of House Hawke and the dragon vein turns admiration into a death sentence. Forced into hiding after a narrow escape, Adrian begins a secret hunt for the truth behind the plot. The Celestial Wedding soon pulls every faction into the open: House Ash, House Gray, House Reyez, the Venoms Sect, and the court’s hidden manipulators. Amid the chaos, Adrian must survive betrayal after betrayal to protect Serena Frost and their daughter Liora. Then, at the wedding itself, the truth erupts—he is the Celestial Marquis. With his identity revealed, Adrian exposes the emperor’s crimes, brings down Lord Everard and the Venoms Sect’s master, and clears House Hawke’s name. When power is placed before him, he walks away, choosing peace and family over the throne.