First published 2025
Viola Sinclair's shadow magic has been discovered at Vandenberghe Academy. In the Kingdom of Aragoa, this means death. Queen's assassin Roze Roquelart receives his orders along with a cursed seven-thorned rose tattoo on his arm. He has exactly seven days to kill Viola or die himself. The problem is Roze is also Viola's arrogant classmate and the person she despises most. He should enjoy ending her life, but Roze needs Viola's magic for his own desperate purposes. Instead of killing her, he proposes a fake engagement to buy time. Viola and Roze must work together while deadly threats close in around them. Dangerous secrets emerge as they navigate their impossible attraction. Their collaboration could save them both or destroy the entire kingdom. The clock counts down as enemies become lovers in a world where magic kills and trust costs everything.
Genres: romance, fantasy, thriller, young-adult
Vibes: dark, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Vandenberghe Academy, Kingdom of Aragoa
400 pages · Hardcover · Bloomsbury YA
Content warnings: violence