The Knights of Heliopolis

In the 18th century, the Knights of Heliopolis—a secret order of immortals whose ranks include Imhotep, Lao Tzu, John the Apostle, and Nostradamus—gather in northern Spain to witness the initiation of a mysterious figure known only as Seventeen. Seventeen quickly proves adept at hand-to-hand combat and swordplay, and is soon revealed to be Louis XVII, the long-lost intersex legitimate heir to the French throne, who was raised in exile after being supplanted by their father’s illegitimate son. After surviving a mystical ritual of rebirth, the dauphin is renamed Asiamar and tasked with assassinating Napoleon Bonaparte—a former prospective member of the Knights of Heliopolis until he was corrupted by an unquenchable thirst for power. When Asiamar decides to seduce Napoleon instead of killing him, the stage is set for a series of events that will play out across centuries and faraway universes.