She came to him in chains of debt, prophecy, and desperation. He accepted her for reasons he refuses to name.Seraphine Voss never planned to set foot in Valdris Keep. But when her father's debts, her village's survival, a contract she never knowingly signed, and a prophecy older than the empire all converge on her twenty-third birthday — she has no choice.Lord Kael Valdris is the most feared man in Aethoria. He controls the magic. He controls the trade. He controls everything — except the sharp-tongued commoner girl who walks into his fortress, finds the one door he keeps locked, and immediately starts asking questions about what's behind it.The arrangement is simple: a contract marriage, a fulfilled prophecy, a political alliance. No feelings. No attachments. No exceptions.But Sera is mapping his weaknesses while he is memorizing her strengths. And somewhere between survival and duty, between power and freedom — they are both about to lose everything they swore to protect.Including each other.