The Girl Behind the Iron Gate

Hannah Standhaft

In the kingdom of Aurelia, magic dictates fate. The elite wield power without consequence, while those born without abilities are left to struggle for survival. For Greta, a sheltered but determined young woman, life has always revolved around one purpose: protecting her younger sister.

But when tragedy strikes, Greta and her sister are thrown to the mercy of the elite. When she refuses to bow to their demands, she is torn from her sister’s side and conscripted into the military, her fate no longer her own.

To reclaim her freedom—and the only family she has left—Greta must enter a deadly tournament, where every challenge is designed to break her, and every rival is out for blood. As the trials push her to her limits, secrets long buried begin to rise, unraveling everything she thought she knew about herself and the world she fights to survive in.

With her sister’s life hanging in the balance, strange and dangerous feelings stirring within her, and an increasingly observant officer who suspects she’s more than she seems, Greta quickly realizes that survival is only the beginning. Because her battle is no longer just for freedom—it’s for something far greater.

Can she withstand the trials ahead, or will she be cast directly into the fire? And if she survives, will those flames destroy her, or forge her into the weapon fate has been waiting for?