by Wendy Heiss
First published 2026
Willow abandons her work as an occult pathologist when disturbing news reaches her. The witches of Meridian keep dying shortly after their ritual marriages to vampires. For five centuries, a sacred pact has governed both realms. Each summer solstice brings a wedding between witch and vampire, followed by a vampire's sacrificial death to prevent an ancient curse from destroying the witch population. This arrangement preserved peace between Meridian and Mortdale until now. Willow accepts marriage to Lord Logan Duncan, the King of Mortdale's second-in-command, to investigate her coven sisters' mysterious deaths from within vampire society. Logan faces his own crisis as a plague of madness threatens his species with extinction. He must monitor his new bride while determining her true purpose in Mortdale. Both Willow and Logan navigate deadly secrets as they work to save their respective peoples from annihilation.
Genres: romance, fantasy, supernatural, dark-fantasy, fantasy-romance, paranormal-romance
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, mysterious, romantic-tension, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, forced-proximity, mystery-investigation, political-intrigue, slow-burn
Setting: Meridian, Mortdale
359 pages · Paperback · Independently published
Content warnings: death, violence