The swamp is waking.The tower is failing.And Wren Blackthorn is running out of time.Raised in the Shadow Tower, Wren has always been told who she is meant to be, dutiful, obedient, and bound to a political marriage that will secure the tower’s future. Promised to Andra and expected to serve the Aetherlight, Wren has learned to bury her doubts along with her own desires.But as dark magic seeps from the southern marshes and the ancient wards begin to fail, the world Wren depends on starts to unravel. Drew, her golden Aether tutor, represents everything she is not allowed to want: choice, trust, and a future not already written. As danger grows, so does her forbidden attraction, and the possibility of a life beyond obedience.When tragedy shatters the tower’s defenses, Wren is forced to choose between the safety of submission and the risk of freedom, between the marriage demanded of her and the man who sees her for what she truly is.Because some storms are not meant to be endured.They are meant to be answered.