Marriage is forbidden in Orega, the Land of Many Waters, but High Prince Maxos does not seem to care. He will stop at nothing to force a marriage out of Eilyn for the good fortune of his own realm. Eilyn will have to destroy the Prince along with his ambitions to protect the women of Orega if she can manage to keep her hands off him. From the world of The First Collection, including novels like The First Dryad and The First Stone. An excerpt I used my Will to rip through his wickedly black shirt, and he winced. Cursing, he grabbed my hair and pulled me close enough for his lips to graze mine when he spoke. “You went too deep on purpose.” His accusation made me smile. In fact, it brought every bit of my skin to life. “Eat your food and stop complaining, Maxos.” The High Prince did as he was told. When his mouth met mine, the core of my body tightened, as if I had nearly died of thirst and there was water just a breath away. A murmur left me…like a whimper and a moan wrapped in one, and he seemed quite pleased to have heard it. He lifted me until I sat on the desk, the carvings along the edge pressing into my skin, and parted my legs so he could slip between them. Every time I reached for what remained of his clothing, Maxos pushed my hands away. “Your trousers,” I mumbled, my breath leaving me in waves while he plucked at my neck with his lips. “Let me take them off.” But he pitted his Will against mine and kept my hands occupied. “Not yet.” “Maxos—” “Stop talking, Eilyn, for the love of heaven—” But I was no one’s attendant. I would not be taking orders from the High Prince. I pushed myself off the desk and shoved the Prince back with enough force that he fell to the floor with a grunt. I snaked atop him, and he urged me back toward him with cool hands. Trousers gone. There. I trailed kisses along his abdomen until I met his mouth once more. But this playing only frustrated us both. Why it all felt so urgent, I knew not. “You are not ready,” he said, holding me off by clutching my hips and attempting to hold me still. “Give me a little more time.” But my body already was slick with sweat, and I knew what I wanted and how badly I wanted it. I angled myself, pulling his very Will from his mouth, but still he would not come into me. I did not appreciate being denied. “Eilyn—” I groaned. “Just…Maxos, let me have what I want.” He leaned forward, those hands along my naked spine just as I’d imagined. The smell of him perfect. The taste of him perfect. “It will be time…when you feel you will die without it.” Dive into this watery world of high royals, witty banter, enemies to lovers, and more. Meet Eilyn and Maxos and fall in love, lost in fantasy in this standalone novel connected to a rich world.