Empress Irini Books in Order

Abandoned at the altar again, Thekla travels to eighth-century Constantinople determined to confront her betrothed. An uneasy alliance with the ambitious Irini draws her into a Byzantine court where religious conflict, shifting loyalties and political power make trust dangerous.

Surrounded by hostile relatives and a suspicious husband, Empress Irini summons Abbess Thekla to the Byzantine court as childbirth approaches. Thekla soon discovers that protecting her former ally means navigating an ambition that threatens everyone standing between Irini and power.

When young Constantine inherits the Byzantine throne, his mother Irini refuses to surrender control as he grows older. Abbess Thekla is caught between them as imprisonment, military rebellion and competing loyalties turn a family struggle into a battle for the empire.

Irini manipulates her son Constantine and his marriage as she pursues absolute control of the Byzantine throne. With civil war dividing the empire, Abbess Thekla must decide where her loyalties lie as the empress’s ambition demands increasingly devastating sacrifices.