‎I taste death for a living. Now I am being asked to serve it.
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‎Every sip of wine I take is a gamble. Every bite of food could be my last. As the King's poison taster, I have survived a hundred toxins, built an immunity to the deadliest concoctions in the kingdom. My tongue knows the sting of nightshade, the burn of hemlock, the sweet kiss of arsenic.
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‎But when my brother is accused of treason, I learn that immunity is not enough.
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A shadow appears at my door. Cold. Beautiful. Utterly merciless. He offers me a bargain I cannot refuse: marry the rotting King, share his bed, taste his every meal. And when the moment is right, let him die.
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‎If I refuse, my brother hangs. If I accept, I become the Queen of a festering court, trapped in a castle built on bones and lies.
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‎The King is dying, his body decaying, his mind sharp as a blade. He watches me like he knows I am hiding something. He touches me like he does not care. And somewhere in the darkness of his eyes, I see something that terrifies me more than death itself.
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‎He is not the monster I was sent to kill. He is something far more dangerous.
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‎He is a man who makes me forget why I came.
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‎The shadow says he wants the King dead. But I taste lies on his tongue too. Everyone in this kingdom has a secret. Everyone has a blade hidden beneath their smile. And I am the only one who knows exactly what kills a man.
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‎They think I am a pawn. A weapon. A tool.
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‎But I am the gravedigger's daughter.
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‎And I know exactly where to bury them.
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‎Welcome to the funeral.