Reign of Cinders and Ash

Magic matters more than blood.

That's what the humans say. As long as you have magic and can serve the human empire, you can rise to the very top of society, and become nobility. With the right rare magical alignment, you can even become royalty.

Though humans have no natural magic they have conquered every species they've come across so they can steal their land, their resources, and their magic through strategic marriages. No race is so reviled as humans. No person is considered so worthless as one with no or little magic. Even worse, are those with magic considered useless.

Beatrice, a mixed-race human hybrid, was born with one of the rarest magical affinities and alignments.

The problem?

Everyone knows it's uselessly weak.

Her parents consider her a burden and question if she is even theirs or if she's a changeling that was switched with their real child as a cruel trick. But her grandparents know that her rare magical alignment means that even if she has no power, she's a valuable commodity to the right family for the affinity she could bring to their bloodlines. Could she even be the girl that prophecy says will marry the prince?

All she has to do is prove her magic isn't so weak it's worthless. Or her parents will marry her off to the first person who makes a decent offer.