𝐈𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐚 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥'𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫. While preparing for her coming-of-age ceremony, eighteen-year-old Yasmin Al-Nouri has one thing on her mind: to finally step into womanhood with the quiet hope that one day, she might find the kind of love she has only ever read about in secret. Having grown up sheltered all her life, she never had a reason to fear the world beyond her family's walls - until danger finds her one fateful evening. When enemy spies infiltrate the capital and single out Yasmin for reasons she does not understand, it shatters everything she believes about the kingdom she calls home. Fortunately, she is rescued by a mysterious warrior, and in the aftermath, overcome by emotion, she does the unexpected. She gently kisses her savior's forehead, thinking nothing of it. She couldn't be more wrong. He disappears without a trace, but Yasmin never forgets him. Several months later, things get complicated when Khalid Al-Zahrani, the formidable Crown Prince of Azhara, suddenly returns victorious from the battlefield. During his victory banquet, he stuns the royal court by invoking the Qasam Al-Muluk, an ancient vow that has been used only a handful of times in the kingdom's long history, which grants him one request no one in Azhara can refuse. He could've asked for anything. Power. Vengeance. Retribution. Instead, he chooses Yasmin. Now bound to the kingdom's most feared man, her hopes of reuniting with her mysterious first love are dashed. Yet something about Khalid unsettles her in a way she can't quite explain - familiar, almost. The more she guards her heart, the more she finds herself captivated. Can she see past his fearsome reputation to uncover who he really is? Or will the shocking truth endanger both their hearts and lives? This is the first book in the Desert Brides Series.