Wren Embervale knows her duty demands a crown, even if it means a strategic betrothal to the influential Lord Darian Devereux. Their arranged marriage promises the formidable army she needs to wrestle her kingdom from the clutches of Silas, the tyrannical usurper.

Yet Wren’s heart still belongs to Torj Elderbrock, her soul-bonded Warsword. Torn between a pragmatic alliance and the visceral pull of her connection with Torj, Wren must navigate a treacherous landscape of courtly intrigue and looming war.

As Silas’s shadow alchemy tightens its grip on the midrealms and a creeping poison steals Torj’s strength, Wren’s carefully constructed facade begins to crack . . .

Can Wren play the dutiful fiancée to secure her throne while her body and soul yearn for the warrior who would lay down his life for her? Or will the tangled threads of political necessity leave her kingdom – and her heart – in ashes?