Ash loves being a knight, but hates that it leaves him little time for himself—and even less to spend with his forbidden lover, the half-elf Havyn. Finding time to be together is even more difficult under the watchful, hateful eyes of his captain. Havyn is suffocating, forced to watch the man he loves from afar, living in fear of the day they are caught—especially since he's already despised for his mixed blood. He buries himself in his magic and studies, ever hoping for a day when they can love openly instead of living constantly in fear. But their wish for more time together comes at the price of saving the world from destruction, and it's a price that might very well tear the two lovers apart, if it simply doesn't kill them first. 40,000 words