Queen Aoife

Hook: Aoife’s life is upended the moment her daughter returns from the capital alone—and her husband does not. What follows is not relief, but revelation: the royal court has collapsed into violence, the king has fled in disgrace, and Callum—her husband—is thrust unwillingly onto the throne. In a matter of weeks, Aoife is no longer the Lady of a quiet household, but Queen of a shaken and grieving kingdom. ~ Aoife was born the daughter of a wealthy merchant. She was quite young when she married Callum Byrne, the son of a Lord. It wasn't the most outrageous pairing for their stations and she never got a hard time from anyone. She and Callum had five children together—three girls and two boys. All seemed right until the summit. The lords of Seamoín had been invited to the palace to catch up on matters within the kingdom. In boyhood, Callum had been close friends with King Alasdair, things should've been amicable, but distance had come between them. Things happened between them, secrets came out, including the private atrocities Alasdair had committed. He was forced into abdication and escaped before he could be arrested. Callum was appointed the new king. Suddenly Aoife had to pack up her life and those of her children to move across the kingdom. She should've been excited. She was Queen now. But at what cost? The people were scared. Alasdair still had some support and could return any day. And there were questions of if a merchant's daughter was fit to bring them out of this. ~ The Children: Meariad (16) Heir to the throne as the eldest, moralistic, stubborn, and kind Quinn (14) Imaginative, quiet, reader, values privacy Colin (10) Adaptable, open-minded, just old enough that he can question their situation Caitlin (8) Optimistic, the most excited about being a princess Shay (5) Sensitive, doesn't adapt well to their new life and misses home