The Briarwild
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- Parts 6
Every hundred years, the forest opens.
The villagers of Fernhollow whisper of the Thorn King-a vengeful spirit bound to the heart of the Briarwild, who demands a bride to keep his wrath from spilling beyond the tree line. When Elira's younger sister, Maeve, is chosen, Elira steps forward instead.
Not only out of love, but from a long-held curiosity that's pulled her toward the forest all her life.
But the Thorn King is not the monster she expected.
Within the overgrown ruins of his crumbling court, Elira finds a being more sorrowful than savage, and a forest that feels as wounded as it is wild. As the garden blooms beneath her hands and forgotten magic stirs in the soil, Elira uncovers fragments of a curse twisted by fear, heartbreak, and centuries of silence.
To break it, she must do what no one has dared-love the forest, not for what it offers, but for what it is.
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In the cursed kingdom of Valera, every lie grows a rose. Every truth draws blood. Centuries ago, the goddess of Truth punished mankind for its deceit. Now, thorns bloom from every falsehood spoken, marking skin with petals and pain. The people of Valera have learned to survive by weaving their words carefully-or dying beneath the weight of their own dishonesty. Primrose Vale has never been careful. A liar, a thief, and a survivor, she's made a living deceiving the dying remnants of the world. Her body bears the scars of her lies-silvered vines winding her wrists and throat like jewelry forged from sin. When a heist in the ruined Temple of Truth goes wrong, she's caught by Sir Kael Arden, the Queen's relentless knight-a man bound by faith, secrets, and his own haunted past. Chained by a spell that silences her deceit, Primrose is dragged across a broken land to face judgment. But when Kael discovers that her lies might be the key to ending the goddess's curse, their paths tangle in ways neither expected. As they hunt for the mythical Heart of the Thorn, the lines between truth and falsehood blur-and something dangerous begins to grow between them. In a world where honesty can kill and deceit can heal, love itself might be the deadliest lie of all.
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