Lord Wren Solaire inherited a duchy no one can find. Literally — his father's lands were erased from every imperial map overnight, and the Crown has given him one year to prove the territory exists or forfeit his title to a rival house. The only cartographer in the empire skilled enough to chart unmapped land is Naia, a former slave from the southern colonies whose freedom papers depend on guild membership she can't afford. His offer: map his duchy back into existence, and he'll buy her guild seat outright. She expects wilderness and survey lines. What she finds is a duchy that's very much there — populated, thriving, and hidden on purpose. The people don't want to be found. And the reason Wren's father erased the maps? He was protecting them from the very empire his son just invited in.