He commands the shadows. She wields the light. But in a court built on other people's years, their bond is the most dangerous weapon of all.
Vespera Cole has spent six years paying a debt that was never hers. Her father died of poisoned water. Her mother is coughing blood in the Sunless Mines. Her little brother is learning to make himself invisible to the overseers.
There is only one way out: win the Trials. Survive the Labyrinth, the Spires, and Final Judgment, and the Crown will pardon her entire family.
The Trials belong to Kastor Rooke, the Shadow Commander, the King's perfect weapon. His curse has left him numb and frozen, and it punishes everyone he cares about for every kindness he dares. His orders are simple: find the slum girl whose veins glow with forbidden starlight, and deliver her to the throne.
Then he touches her, and the Star Toll that has been burning Vespera alive goes quiet. The frost that has been killing him begins to thaw.
Now her best chance of surviving the Trials is the man sworn to betray her, and his only chance of feeling anything is the girl he was made to destroy. Every touch makes them stronger. Every touch also brings the King's curse down on the people Kastor loves.
And the deeper Vespera goes into the Pewter Court, the clearer it becomes that some prizes are the trap.
They say the Shadow Commander can see what a person wants most and twist it into a weapon. Vespera is counting on that being a rumor.
If you love:
- Underdog heroines with hidden powers
- Slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers romance
- Morally gray, touch-starved commanders
- Deadly trials and a court full of schemers
- A magic bond that hurts so good
- Heat level is medium, sensual, not graphic
