Arabella Blackwood was never meant to choose her fate. When the king decrees her betrothal to Lord Aziel of Ravencrest, a warlord feared for his cruelty and whispered magic, her life is no longer her own. The price of peace is her hand in marriage. Aziel is a man carved from winter and war. His past is stained with blood. His previous wives vanished into silence. And yet, when he looks at Arabella, it is not affection she sees in his silver eyes, it is recognition. Trapped between a ruthless stepmother, a kingdom’s political games, and a husband who may be more monster than man, Arabella must decide: Will she remain a pawn in a royal bargain… Or will she become something far more dangerous? In a world where alliances are forged in blood and secrets breathe in the dark, rebellion may cost her more than her freedom.