The Fifth Kingdom

“You have a choice, Ms. Jones. Nothing in this world is gained without sacrifice. Civilization requires cruelty to survive. It is a cold equation that must be balanced.”

Penny Jones is not a hero. She is not a leader.She learned that lesson the hard way in her teens, and now, ever since the death of her dad, she's spent every waking moment clawing out a living as a freelance graphic designer. Video games are things that she loves, but usually has neither the time nor money for.So when her best-friend surprises her with tickets to the exclusive beta of Astrea, a fully immersive fantasy game, she should be thrilled.Except Astrea isn't just a game, its a world created by Edward Prince,  an amoral billionaire who ruined her life almost ten years ago, and it has one purpose -- find the next leader worthy of taking over his company.Thankfully, Penny's not stupid enough to think that's a game she could win.Right?Note: This is a story about a flawed protagonist trying to prove that you don't need to be a sociopathic asshole in order to have power and a stable society, and that sometimes, maybe, after enough blood, sweat and tears, the unlikely good guy can actually win.Maybe.Or maybe she just gets her head chomped off sixty billion times.