Lady Rachiele, 18, has spent the last eight years dreaming of a life at court with a loving husband. Then her parents sell her hand in marriage to a stranger. Sir Telon of Yovren is handsome enough, and seems charming at first. But when Rachiele learns he’s a drunkard and in love with someone else, she grows determined to escape and chart her own destiny. She’ll even brave the dangerous, monster-infested woods surrounding castle Yovren if she has to. For Sir Telon, life has gone from bad to worse. When his lover scorned him for a more advantageous match, his parents immediately tricked him into signing a betrothal contract for Rachiele, a complete stranger. Now duty to his unwanted bride prevents him from winning back his former love. Worse, Rachiele seems to hate him for some mysterious reason. After his bride vanishes inexplicably from a locked room at the top of a tower, Telon finds himself the prime suspect in her disappearance. To clear his name, he has no choice but to hunt her down. But the woods outside castle Yovren are full of beasts both creature and human. As the runaway bride and her knightly husband work together to survive, they both begin to realize how happy their marriage could have been. Finding the strength to admit it before it ends forever will be a difficult feat: one requiring more than wits, brawn, or magic.

When 20-year-old Eliana’s father orders her to court, it is with one purpose: to save their noble, destitute family through marriage to a wealthy suitor. Eliana would much rather be studying healing and making use of her rare magical talent for medicines, but there is no escaping his command. She has eight short weeks to find a match she can stomach, or else she’ll be married off to the cruel, despicable man of her father’s choosing. Navigating court politics is difficult for nervous Eliana, who is determined to take up as little space as possible. Worst of all, she only has eyes for the Queen’s nephew, Corin: a brooding, rugged knight who is already betrothed to another. Though he returns Eliana's feelings, he’s as trapped by duty as she is. But even as Corin struggles against his own family's shackles, he is driven by a singular purpose: to rid the land of the bandits terrorizing the Queen's people. As the outlaws circle the capital city, Corin and Eliana turn their focus and their talents towards helping the vulnerable common folk who live outside the palace walls. But the bandits have a patron who aims to spread dissent amongst the crumbling ranks of the nobility. The more lives Corin and Eliana save, the more enemies they are both making… and the closer her father’s deadline draws. This slow-burn friends-to-lovers explores an exciting new fantasy kingdom with subtle magic, steamy encounters, and danger lurking around every bend.