Daughter of the Ninth Line, Part Two by Grace McGinty

A tender heart in Boellium would soon bleed out, and then it would be their blood painting the courtyard’s cobblestones red. That wouldn’t be me.

Avalon Halhed was the sacrificial lamb for the Ninth Line, but walking through the gates of Boellium felt wrong, and she couldn’t put her finger on the reason why.
It was more than her instant attraction to an Heir of the First Line, who was so far above her station he may as walk among the stars while she scrabbled in the dirt.
It wasn’t even the face that looking at the Hayle Taeme inexplicably made her heart seize in her chest like it had beat its last beat either.
She was out of her depth, and it was more than just the gruelling training and marathon lectures. She’d captured the attention of the two most powerful people inside the walls of Boellium, and not everyone was happy about it. It didn’t matter that she’d been keeping her head down, determined to get through her conscription and return back to the Ninth Line Barony to live out her life in solitude.
She’d upset the careful balance, and now they were out for blood.

This is Part Two in an ongoing novella series. Reading Daughter Of The Ninth Line : Part One is strongly advised.