The Halfblood Emperor

A murdered emperor's forgotten son—half-foreign, untrained in politics, and despised by the court he's meant to rule—is the empire's only surviving heir. Veshen Toraldi arrives at the Amber Palace with mud on his boots and no allies, thrust into a nest of scheming nobles and a chancellor who would sooner see the throne abolished than occupied by a halfblood. To survive, Veshen must uncover the truth behind his family's assassination, outmaneuver a conspiracy older than his exile, and prove that mercy can be more dangerous than cruelty.