The Sovereign

by C. L. Clark

Overview

The Sovereign brings princess Luca and soldier Touraine together one last time in the thrilling conclusion to C. L. Clark's beloved queer political fantasy trilogy. 

Luca is the new queen of Balladaire. Her empire is already splintering in her hands. Her uncle wasn’t the only traitor in the court, and the Withering plague will decimate her people if she can’t unearth Balladaire’s magic. The only person who can help her wants the only thing Luca won’t give—the end of the monarchy. 

Touraine is Luca’s general. She has everything she ever wanted. While Luca looks within Balladaire’s borders, Touraine looks outward—the alliance with Qazal is brittle and Balladaire’s neighbors are ready to pounce on its new weakness. When the army comes, led by none other than Touraine’s old lover, Touraine must face the truth about herself—and the empire she once called home. 

A storm is coming. Touraine and Luca will stand against it together, or it will tear them apart once and for all.

Magic of the Lost
The Unbroken
The Faithless
The Sovereign 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316542869
Publisher:	Orbit
Publication date:	09/30/2025
Series:	Magic of the Lost , #3
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	592
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Cherae graduated from Indiana University's creative writing MFA. She's been a personal trainer, an English teacher, and an editor, and is some combination thereof as she travels the world. When she's not writing or working, she's learning languages, doing P90something, or reading about war and [post-]colonial history. Her short fiction has appeared in Beneath Ceaseless Skies, FIYAH, PodCastle and Uncanny. You can follow her on Twitter @c_l_clark.

Editorial Reviews

Clark’s debut trilogy is dynamic and forceful, striking the right balance between palace politics, military fantasy, and sapphic romance … The Sovereign is a queer political military fantasy teeming with power, desire, and sacrifice.”

—Locus

"Clark’s intense conclusion to the “Magic of the Lost” trilogy, after The Faithless, is filled with high-stakes physical and political actions, personal sacrifice, and intertwined relationships. Themes of colonization, revolution, and forgotten magic are woven through with Clark’s hard-hitting, emotion-laden prose."

—Library Journal

Praise for the Magic of the Lost:

"Clark's worldbuilding continues to grow...the sequel to The Unbroken extends the deliberate journey towards independence from an empire and the past, and the love in two women’s hearts." ―Library Journal on The Faithless

“C.L. Clark gives us an unflinching story of colonialism and revolution and the people caught between. The Unbroken grabs you by the collar, breaks your heart over its knee and mends it. An astonishing debut.” ―Andrea Stewart, author of The Bone Shard Daughter 

"Rife with political, familial, and romantic tension, The Unbroken is a riveting epic fantasy about a city on the knife's edge of rebellion, a tangle of alliances, and a desperate search for magic and hope.” ―K.A. Doore, author of The Perfect Assassin

"The Unbroken grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go. A perfect military fantasy: brutal, complex, human, and impossible to put down." ―Tasha Suri, author of The Jasmine Throne 

"The Unbroken is a thrilling examination of love and loyalty under the crushing weight of empire. It's high adventure on a human scale―don't miss it." ―Alix E. Harrow, author of The Ten Thousand Doors of January 

"C. L. Clark's epic fantasy debut reveals all the ugly, painful, deeply personal complexities of revolution against empire, captured in shimmering pointillist detail. I’m in awe!" ―Shelley Parker-Chan, author of She Who Became the Sun on The Unbroken

"This strong debut is filled with exciting action and worldbulding, intriguing characters dealing with themes of colonization, military conscription and indoctrination, and an explosion of feelings. Readers will be clamoring for more of Touraine and Luca before they finish." ―Library Journal  

"Clark conjures an elaborate fantasy world inspired by Northern Africa and delves into an international political conflict that draws on real histories of colonialism and conquest in their excellent debut... Clark’s precise, thorough worldbuilding allows this remarkable novel to dive deep into the intricate workings of colonialism, exposing how power structures are maintained through social conditioning and exploring the emotional toll of political conflict. The result is a captivating story that works both as high fantasy and skillful cultural commentary." ―Publishers Weekly on The Unbroken

"An unflinching examination both of colonialism, with its tools of control and oppression, and of what one person can endure in the struggle for power and freedom." ―New York Times on The Unbroken

From the Publisher