In the fae Summer Kingdom, healers are taught to preserve life while obeying the rules that keep them safe: never use magic on another fae. But when Lucinda uses healing magic to save Oto, a fae boy cursed with lethal shadow magic, she binds her magic with his in a way their kingdom strictly forbids. Lucinda and Oto's magic becomes intertwined, linking them in an escalating psychic connection that will slowly descend them both into madness. While both haunted and comforted by his empathetic connection to Lucinda, Oto must grapple with his own uncontrollable dark magic. As a weapon who kills everything he touches, including his own father, Oto must conquer his own demons before he can give in to his feelings for Lucinda. As Lucinda struggles to obey her father and suppress her growing bond with Oto, the Autumn Kingdom's armies are closing in, threatening to overtake the Summer Kingdom. As Lucinda and Oto's connection develops, they navigate their psychic bond while being tested and manipulated by those who want to exploit it. Plagued by prophetic nightmares of Oto's death on the battlefield, Lucinda must choose between safety and love, obedience and defiance. To save Oto's life again, she must abandon the comfort of everything she knows and take a leap of faith in herself as she follows him to war against the Autumn Kingdom. As their connection deepens and political tensions escalate, the line between protection, possession, and outright madness begins to blur.

He demanded the perfect princess. The empire gave him the wrong daughter. Aveline Valcairn has always been the emperor's forgotten daughter, the princess who grew up among books, greenhouses, and hidden corridors where no one thought to measure the true extent of her intelligence. Until her sister disappears on the eve of a marriage that could determine the future of the empire. In place of the perfect bride, Aveline is given to Ronan Blackthorne, the feared Iron Duke: commander of the North, war hero, and leading contender for the throne. He expected a princess trained to rule. Instead, he receives a sharp-tongued substitute with dangerous knowledge and no intention of obeying him in silence. Taken to Ironmist Fortress, surrounded by snow, steam-powered machines, and political enemies, they must turn an unwanted engagement into a convincing alliance. But as Aveline searches for the real reason her sister fled, she discovers that powerful men within the empire are willing to kill for control of the succession. Ronan does not trust the woman they gave him. Aveline refuses to become any man's property. Yet between contracts, conspiracies, dangerous provocations, and an attraction neither of them was prepared to feel, the substitute bride may prove to be the only woman capable of ruling beside the Iron Duke. A steampunk fantasy romance featuring an arranged marriage, enemies to lovers, slow burn, palace intrigue, an intelligent heroine, a possessive duke, and a deadly battle for the imperial throne.

Ele exigiu a princesa perfeita. O império lhe entregou a filha errada. Aveline Valcairn sempre foi a filha esquecida do imperador, a princesa que cresceu entre livros, estufas e corredores onde ninguém se preocupava em medir sua inteligência. Até que sua irmã desaparece às vésperas de um casamento capaz de decidir o futuro do império. No lugar da noiva perfeita, Aveline é entregue a Ronan Blackthorne, o temido Duque de Ferro: comandante do Norte, herói de guerra e futuro candidato ao trono. Ele esperava uma princesa treinada para governar. Recebeu uma substituta de língua afiada, conhecimentos perigosos e nenhuma intenção de obedecer em silêncio. Levados para a fortaleza de Ferrobruma, cercada por neve, máquinas a vapor e inimigos políticos, os dois precisam transformar um noivado imposto em uma aliança convincente. Mas, enquanto Aveline tenta descobrir por que sua irmã realmente fugiu, percebe que há homens dentro do império dispostos a matar para controlar a sucessão. Ronan não confia na mulher que lhe entregaram. Aveline não pretende se tornar propriedade de homem algum. Porém, entre contratos, conspirações, provocações e uma atração que nenhum dos dois estava preparado para sentir, a noiva substituta pode acabar sendo a única mulher capaz de governar ao lado do Duque de Ferro. Um romance de fantasia com casamento arranjado, enemies to lovers, slow burn, intrigas palacianas, protagonista inteligente, duque possessivo e uma ambientação steampunk.