Who Are The Main Tributes In 'The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes'?

Abby Barns is about to turn eighteen and face the Capitol, where every heir must meet to try and find their fated mate. But Abby isn’t ready to bind herself to a mate she hasn’t even met, not when she’s never felt her wolf stir since she was twelve and not when her family’s secrets keep gnawing at her like a hidden ache. Her sister Melody, once lively and fierce, is presumed dead behind a veil of illness that strikes their clan with increasing ferocity. Abby’s father, Graham, clings to a truth he refuses to admit: Melody’s condition might be more than misfortune. It might be poison. With two friends who are all sunshine and all spark, Abby steps into a city of glittering banners and looming danger, where a prince is guardian to the realm but aloof to the heart. Adrian, the silent, powerful protector with the deepest green eyes, seems to deny Abby’s presence even as her own pulse answers to his almost unspoken call. As old wounds surface, a rogue threat grows louder, and the mystery of Melody’s poisoning unravels a legacy that could redefine who Abby is and who she is fated to become. As Abby discovers the truth about wolf’s bane coursing through her veins, she must decide whether trust is a risk worth taking or a trap designed to hold her forever. In a world where love is both weapon and salvation, Abby’s journey from uncertainty to a life altering bond will test family loyalties, awaken a dormant wolf, and force her to choose between a dangerous future and a love she never expected.

Olivia was proposed to by her lover Jacob, but she couldn't agree. They could not make love or even kiss. Because this was a vampire-ruled country, werewolves were vampires' slaves. All werewolf women must remain chaste, because every young girl was a tribute waiting to be chosen by a vampire. Once a girl turned 15, she would enter the annual lottery. Only girls who were not chosen five times in a row were allowed to fall in love with their mate, and vampires considered five years of waiting a mercy. Olivia had not been selected for four consecutive years, and as long as she failed again this year, she could marry Jacob. This year's tribute lottery was special, and all tributes would be dedicated to the legendary Vampire Duke Damien. Olivia was lucky not to be chosen. Unfortunately, her sister became a tribute. To save her sister, Olivia volunteered to be a tribute. Unbeknownst to Olivia, her blood had aroused Damien's interest. When a vampire came looking for the blood pet chosen by Damien, an accident caused Olivia to swap identities with another tribute. Olivia planned to escape, but was found by vampires and became their appetizer. Just as Olivia was about to fall into nothingness, she heard an indifferent voice.“Who allowed you to hurt my pet?”

In their world, women are nothing. Breeders. Sex objects. And slaves who slaughter themselves in the Arena for entertainment. Meanwhile, males are worshipped like gods— stronger, superior, untouchable to which women are expected to lower their heads, bury their faces in the dust, and obey. Ragna was born into that world too. The difference is… She refuses to kneel to anyone. And what begins as defiance turns into catastrophe when Ragna does the impossible: She kills a male. A feat so forbidden it shatters the foundation of their beliefs and the kingdom’s understanding of reality itself. Now the Arena fears her. The kingdom watches her. And the throne wants her broken. But Ragna is stubborn, reckless, sharp-tongued, and just chaotic enough to keep making things worse. Especially when a brutal prince with too much power and too many secrets becomes tangled in her path. In the aftermath, all hell breaks loose and things become bloody because betrayal is guaranteed, mercy is forbidden… and All is Fair in Love and Blood…

My sister and I were chosen by the Blood Ledger on the same night. In our first life, Lydia chose beauty. I chose genius. She became the most desired girl in the vampire courts, but the Glamour Gift came with one condition. She had to win true devotion before the deadline. She failed. Men wanted her face. They wanted her body. They wanted to show her off like a rare jewel. But none of them loved her. When the Blood Ledger took her beauty back, Lydia lost everything. I became the youngest scholar in the Night Academy, solved forbidden blood theories, and caught the eye of Adrian Blackthorne, heir to the oldest vampire house. So Lydia killed me. She trapped me beneath the sunrise and smiled as I burned. When I opened my eyes again, we were sixteen, standing before the Blood Ledger once more. This time, Lydia stole the Scholar Gift before I could speak. “Now I’ll be the genius everyone worships,” she said. “You can have beauty this time.” Poor Lydia. She thought she had stolen my future. What she didn’t understand was that every blessing in this world had already been marked with a price.

War is coming, and this time it is more than personal. For generations, the Stormborn lineage has carried one story like a scar, the former Draconis destroyed their empire and left their bloodline in ruins. The Red Alpha grew up on that story. He was raised on it. Fed with it. Every lesson, every battle, every scar carved one belief into him, when the Draconis rises again, it must be put to death. But fate has a cruel sense of humor. Because the new Draconis is Lyra. She doesn’t fully understand what she is yet. She only knows she’s being hunted. Villages are being wiped out. Borders are closing. The wolf clan are preparing for open war. The vampire council is divided, each elder with their own hidden agenda. And somewhere deep within the forbidden forests lies a power that could either protect her or expose her. The Red Alpha knows more than he admits. He knows what the last Draconis did. He knows secrets about Lyra’s blood that even she doesn’t know. And he is not just preparing for battle. He is preparing revenge. As the Blood Eclipse approaches, alliances will begin to crack, previous betrayals will surface again, and the truth about the former Draconis will threaten everything. Because this isn’t just history repeating itself. This is unfinished hatred. And when Lyra finally steps into the fire, the world will learn whether she is their salvation... Or the final mistake.

*Book 3* Yildiz was created by the Goddess Zarseti for one purpose: to uphold truth and justice in the supernatural world. Unlike her sisters, Yildiz came into being blind, but she sees beyond what others can. For tens of thousands of years, she and her sisters continued their duties as the Delegation, but life just got more interesting for Yildiz. She learns her creator blessed her, of all people, with a soulmate – an unwilling soulmate at that. Darkness surrounds this mystery man, but he is far more than he seems. Yildiz finds herself pushed away at every turn, but she's never been known to give up her pursuits. Will she capture his heart and unravel his secrets? Or will she be consumed by the darkness and left heartbroken? *Excerpt* "Is this the part where you say you'd die for me?" "Death is easy. It's brief and over in an instant, but living? Living is hard and living for eternity is even harder. So no, I won't die for you… I'd live for you." A Queen Among Blood is the third book in the Queen Among series. Each story is set up in the previous book, so reading the books in order is recommended. Here are the books in the series: A Queen Among Alphas - Book 1 Bite-Size Luna - A Queen Among Alphas Prequel A Queen Among Snakes - Book 2 Runaway Empress - A Queen Among Snakes Prequel A Queen Among Blood - Book 3 Whole Again - A Queen Among Alpha's spin-off A Queen Among Darkness - Book 4 Dark Invocation - A Queen Among Darkness spin-off A Queen Among Tides - Book 5 Valor, Virtue, and Verve - A Queen Among Tides Prequel Spin-off A Queen Among Gods - Book 6 A Queen Among Tempests - Book 7