She’s toxic, he’s fascinated. Putting herself in his path is the easy part. Not taking advantage of their mutual attraction is going to be tough. Shan has arrived on Athon with one purpose, to take part in her friend’s wedding. When things get complicated, she ends up splitting her attention between the bride and the newly landed General Zaber. Zaber is the end of his line. His father was an idiot and all of his half-siblings have followed their father to the grave. Raised by his mother on Kadura, Zaber had a good upbringing that ended abruptly when he was conscripted to take his father’s place in the Athon military. A decade and a half later, he has his father’s rank and no intention on continuing the family line. He is done with bloodlines, but the government of Athon wants to keep his line alive, and they are willing to kidnap members of the populace to ensure it. Shan has already met Zaber, and when the guards interrupt her friend’s engagement party, she is more than irritated but goes with them anyway. When she learns that it was not his idea to kidnap a few dozen women, she steps up and volunteers to take him on as a lover. After all, she is a bridal attendant, isn’t she supposed to be a little reckless with her virtue?