Centuries ago, in the days of the first mortal king, the asura—beings born from darkness—found hidden gateways connecting the realms. These asura traversed the cosmos seeking a new home, devouring entire worlds in their wake and leaving a trail of death and destruction. But these realms had a way of pushing the asura out, for the asura needed shadows to thrive.
One day, they found their way into Patala . . . a bright white world with a pleasant dark area near a river where the dead of all realms traveled through to reach their afterlives.
With the help of the dakini—the shadow wielders—a dome of eternal darkness was created. The first ruler was called the Shadow King, and the first Shadow Princess created the Court of Nightmares so the asura could search the dreams of others in faraway realms to find amrita, the immortal elixir of life.
But that was a very long time ago. To this day, the sitting Shadow King has not found immortality. Patala seeks to reclaim its land. And only the true king can restore balance.
Forced into exile, the Nightmare Realm calls to the one who can master it. Introducing Hiran, the youngest of the Shadow Princes. Strong, handsome, calculating, a growing leader and a skilled fighter with a few hidden powers underneath his sleeves. Sounds perfect, right? Well . . .
He’s a ten, but . . . he stows away in your nightmares and steals secrets.
Hiran: That’s technically my sister’s doing. She dragged me into the dreamscape. But to be fair, we had a very good reason.
He’s a ten, but . . . he’ll unleash a horde of plague-infected undead onto the palace grounds.
Hiran: I mean, have you met the royals?
He’s a ten, but . . . he’s always carrying hidden lethal weapons.
Hiran: It’s the Nightmare Realm. There’s a lot of things trying to eat me.
He’s a ten, but . . . he’s hiding some major secrets.
Hiran: It keeps the mystery alive.
He’s a ten, but . . . he’ll let the realm die for a certain girl.
Hiran: (Grins—my what sharp fangs!) Have you met Eshani? You’d burn the world for her, too.
Meet Hiran for yourself in Rick Riordan Presents: A Touch of Blood by Sajni Patel, on sale 2/25!