Everyone in Ravenglen fears Master Severin. Known as the Ironbound, he is a low-born man with violet eyes, a lethal reputation, and more influence over the royal court than many nobles can tolerate. Elara knows better than to stare when he passes through the citadel. She also knows that getting close to him may be the only way to complete the task that brought her into his orbit. What begins as a dangerous assignment becomes far more complicated when Elara is made Severin's squire. Behind the ruthless mask is a man trapped by a bond to Prince Cassian, whose health has depended on Severin since childhood. The court calls their connection miraculous. Elara begins to see the cage hidden inside the miracle. As she trains beside Severin, rides beyond the walls with him, and discovers the man beneath the legend, suspicion turns into friendship and friendship into something neither can safely admit. But Ravenglen is changing. The prince Severin has protected for years is becoming a ruler the kingdom may not survive, and old loyalties are cracking under the weight of cruelty, class resentment, and political ambition. Elara's own secrets could destroy the fragile trust growing between them, while Severin must decide whether devotion to the crown still deserves the sacrifices it demands. When whispers of revolution become plans, love and treason begin to look dangerously similar. To have any chance at a future together, Elara and Severin may have to challenge the very institution that made him powerful and kept him bound.
Everyone in Ravenglen fears Master Severin. Known as the Ironbound, he is a low-born man with violet eyes, a lethal reputation, and more influence over the royal court than many nobles can tolerate. Elara knows better than to stare when he passes through the citadel. She also knows that getting c...