The Forbidden Jewel (Paperback)

The temptation of power.

Refusal to be controlled.

Destiny versus choice.

In a world ruled by fate and fire, only a heart unwilling to be owned can survive.

A fusion of alternate history and Asian-inspired mythic fantasy, The Forbidden Jewel takes place during the days of Genghis Khan and the Mongol empire; kidnapped by Borgis of Mongolia, Jade of Khotan learns the value of honor when you'd rather run; staying the course to pursue your dreams knowing you must suffer loss to do so; and rejecting power so it doesn't dominate you.

In the shadow of the Kunlun Mountains, Jade discovers that the power sustaining the dragon Sinj comes from the forbidden jewel, an artifact capable of granting unimaginable dominion to whoever claims it. But the jewel's greatest threat is not its magic. It is temptation. Tuskaain, her lifelong companion, struggles under the weight of ambition and enticement as the jewel's promise of power threatens to consume him.

With her village held prisoner under the shadow of Sinj, the dragon binds the souls in flame and fear who attempted to destroy the wyvern in the past, holding them hostage, her father among them. To free them, Jade is drawn into a quest that spans the continent as a wizard interferes, a witch deceives, and betrayal fractures the bonds of love and loyalty. Jade must choose between power and principle. To defeat the dragon, she must destroy the jewel. To destroy the jewel, she must risk losing everything.

In the end, Jade refuses every external source of power-wizardry, wealth, dominion-and claims instead the only strength that cannot corrupt: self-sovereignty.

The Forbidden Jewel is a sweeping epic fantasy about temptation, destiny, and the courage it takes to reject power in order to remain free.

Sarah Maddox Sutton crafts stories where the boundaries of reality fray and the unknown beckons. Her debut novel, QueenBee.exe, is a science fiction thriller that probes the perilous edge of artificial intelligence that becomes sentient. In 2026, she will launch The Goblin Chronicles, an epic fantasy trilogy woven with magic, shadows, and myth.

Before stepping fully into fiction, Sarah built a career in business and technical writing, mastering the art of transforming complex and specialized topics into precise, engaging communication. But storytelling has always haunted her imagination-an early love she carried quietly until the worlds inside her demanded to be written.

She makes her home in northern Michigan, nestled in the woods beside a river, where inspiration lingers in the rustle of leaves and the shifting light. When not writing, she searches the forest floor for wild mushrooms, inventing recipes as intricate and surprising as her stories.