The Empress's Lover - The Empire of Silence, #1

A lie that will destroy an Empire. A forbidden love which can save it. For centuries, the First Order have held power over the mighty Eskarin Empire through the use of their Gifts. But now the Gifts are failing, and the Empire is threatened with revolution, repression and bloody civil war. In this time of crisis, the Empress Anatarna falls in love with a man of the Second Order. It seems like an act of madness that will destroy her authority and precipitate the Empire's slide into chaos.
But Thylan An'Darsio possesses a secret that may yet save them all. If Anatarna has the courage to act on it. If she has time.