A Bid to Rule

While this book happens 23 years before the main events of this series, it contains characters, events, and context needed to fully enjoy the rest of the series. This is the preferred reading order, but it can also be read any time before, during, or right after books 1 and 2.

THE RULER IS DEAD.
LONG LIVE THE RULER.

Homaj Rhialden has lived his whole life knowing his older sibling, not himself, will rule his interstellar kingdom—and as a court rake, he's perfectly okay with that. But when his parents are assassinated and the Heir goes missing, Homaj is suddenly thrust into power. All evidence points to an inside job, but who among his father's trusted advisors are his enemies?

Determined to track down his parents' killers and prove himself in an increasingly hostile court, Homaj hatches a plan with his servant cousin, Iata, to use their shapeshifting abilities to switch places: while Iata impersonates him and rules the kingdom as...