She was born with a crown, raised in luxury, and known for her fire-bold, reckless, and anything but obedient. Princess Aurelia has never needed anyone to watch over her... until her defiance forces the king's hand. He is the kingdom's most trusted knight. Loyal, silent, deadly-and now, bound by duty to guard the one person who refuses to be guarded. He swore an oath to protect her, not love her. She swore she'd never let him in. But when shadows rise within the palace walls, and loyalty is tested beyond the blade, the line between duty and desire begins to blur. He carries a sword at her side, but never a crown on his head. Because some hearts are not meant to be held-only protected.

What would happen if a nurse cared for William during the Somme? If there was someone else on the mission, would anything be different? Would more people survive? Will she - and her loved ones - make it? William x OC

"Bitterness is unbecoming of a woman, but I cherish mine like the memory of first love. I see nothing in Leon Wagner, but an automaton. He is a machine of the Third Reich. I am surprised he even bleeds." In the summer of 1945, the world rejoices at the surrender of first Germany then Japan, but healing is a long time coming. Though they are not visible, Ruth Tucker's wounds run deep. Having worked as a nurse for the American Red Cross since the invasion of Normandy, Ruth's hatred for her country's former enemy runs deep. While stationed in Zell am See, Austria, she is assigned to nurse in a German POW camp. She meets a young Wehrmacht soldier, Leon Wagner, who speaks English and strives to spark a friendship with her. But Ruth's bitterness is almost too strong. All she sees in Leon is a heartless machine. Slowly, through a shared love of books and their families, she begins to recognize his humanity and starts to feel her own stir in her heart, something she thought long deadened by the months of violence.