First published 2026
The night of the trial celebration, a masked woman slips away before a prince can learn her name. He does not stop looking. She does not stop running. In a medieval kingdom where elemental magic and shifter forms must be earned through deadly trials, she has built her life around one rule: never stay long enough to be seen. She is a rebel with a hidden identity, and the king has something she wants badly enough to walk straight into the castle to take it back. She takes the job of royal swordmaster. It should be simple. It is not. The prince who danced with a stranger in a mask is standing in front of her every day, and he is getting closer to the truth with each one. Every wall she raised to keep herself alive is beginning to crack. She thought she could survive anything this kingdom threw at her, including blood trials, deadly magic, and a prophecy written in suffering. The prince is the threat she did not prepare for. Forced proximity, a forbidden romance, and a love triangle that leaves marks on everyone it touches.
Genres: romance, adventure, fantasy, dark-fantasy, young-adult-fantasy
Vibes: dark, emotionally-charged, fast-paced, intense, romantic-tension
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, forbidden-romance, forced-proximity, love-triangle, masked-identity
Setting: Medieval Kingdom, Castle
Period: Medieval
394 pages · Paperback · Veilbound Publishing LLC
Content warnings: death, violence