First published 2025
Osric Mordaunt breaks into the Haelen Order headquarters with a desperate proposal. The Fyren assassin has fallen sick and needs Aurienne Fairhrim to heal him. She belongs to an enemy faction, but the Haelen healer faces her own crisis. Children are dying from a resurgent Pox outbreak, and her order lacks funds for an immunization program. Aurienne accepts Osric's bribe out of necessity. Working together, they investigate both his mysterious illness and the return of the supposedly eradicated disease. Each discovery pulls them deeper into danger and closer to each other. Osric fights his growing attraction to the woman he should consider his enemy. Aurienne struggles with her own feelings for the assassin whose world opposes everything she represents. Their partnership becomes a battle between duty and desire.
Genres: romance, historical-fiction, adventure, fantasy
Vibes: emotional, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Haelen Order, Fyren
370 pages · Hardcover · Ace
Content warnings: violence