K.C. Woodruff

An artist plagued by a violent past. An heir destined to never take her own throne. A tyrant bound to life, consumed by his bloody trail. Dawn breaks over a dying land. Ever since surviving the bloody coup that cost Ara her home and Stedd his family, they’ve found solace in each other’s arms, dreaming of a life where Ara can cultivate her gardening and engineering talents while Stedd flourishes in his art. But the old magic that once held Evenia together has long faded, and when King Vayne Savant learns of Ara’s godly heritage and royal bloodline, she turns from a budding engineer into a reluctant bride, and a pawn in his cunning plan to dominate the continent amid its technological collapse. Desperate to escape her husband’s bloodstained grasp, Ara strikes a dark deal with the king: a child—the heir to two thrones—in exchange for her freedom. Her plan should have been simple, but in between sieges, squabbling, and sessions of pleasure are nights spent waking to assassins’ blades at her throat and the threat of sinister societies formidable enough to outsmart even Savant’s cunning. Unwilling to lose Ara, Stedd sets down his paintbrush and picks up a blade, entering a war he doesn’t understand. But the line between love and hatred is a thin one, and Stedd soon finds himself torn between rescuing the love of his life or pursuing revenge on the man who destroyed it. The fate of the continent lies in the hands of a ruthless conqueror and a pacifistic queen, their destinies far more than they understand. If they can find common ground, Evenia may be saved. But the obstacles that lie in their wake are more than they can anticipate, and the consequences for failure greater than they could imagine.