A reluctant queen. A deadly assassin. A deal bound in blood. Conspiracy lurks in the realm of Rothen. No one knows this better than Elma Volta, soon to be queen of the frozen kingdom. But as she awaits her coronation, Elma narrowly escapes death at the hands of an enemy assassin. Realizing she has few choices and even fewer allies, Elma offers the assassin a deal: if he can keep her alive until she takes her rightful place on the throne, she will bring peace to their warring lands. An uneasy alliance forms between Elma and the sharp-tongued assassin. But what started as mutual hatred and resentment, soon begins to evolve into something else entirely. Something aching, desperate, and blazing hot.