saraannharvey
For ten years, war has burned the border between Orevale and Veilstead-leaving towns in ruin, people starving, and hatred rooted so deeply it feels inherited.
Cassadee Hawthorne never wanted a throne. Raised in secrecy and trained as an assassin, she has spent her life surviving under the weight of a power she refuses to touch. Now, with her father dying and her kingdom fracturing, Cass is forced into the role of regent queen-sent to negotiate peace with the very man her people fear most.
Rhodes Harland, the Dragon King of Veilstead, is a ruthless strategist bound by blood and fire to the ancient dragons of his land. He was raised to believe magic destroys, and that shadow wielders must be eradicated at any cost. When Cass and Rhodes are pushed into an uneasy alliance, their mutual distrust ignites into something far more dangerous than hatred.
A fragile treaty demands more than ink. To stop the unrest tearing their people apart, Cass and Rhodes must walk the border together-through ruined villages, lingering grief, and violence that refuses to stay buried. But as Rhodes is called away by unrest among the dragons, Cass remains behind to rebuild what the war shattered... and to uncover a truth buried even deeper.
Shadow-marked raids. Stolen minerals. Whispers of magic long thought extinct.
With the help of Silas, a brilliant and kindhearted historian, Cass begins to unravel the forgotten history of dragons, shadow magic, and the lineage she's been taught to fear. As her power strains against the warded choker at her throat, Cass is forced to confront who she truly is-and what others will do to control her.
Because the war was never just between kingdoms.
And the shadows are searching for her.
Bound by Ash and Shadow is a slow-burn fantasy romance filled with enemies-to-lovers tension, dragons, forbidden magic, political intrigue, and a heroine discovering her strength in a world determined to break her.