WAR DANCES; Ellenia Blooms

"He looks at me as one looks at a map. There's no affection, only strategy."

"And how do you look at him, milady?"

"As one looks at the sea when one cannot swim."

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Five years ago, Duke Haklasser Kalaide departed to serve the Emperor on the western front, leaving behind a wife married only the day before: Syennanovica of Vernhold.

Now the kingdom begins to rise from the ruins of war, but the court remains a labyrinth of fragile alliances and deadly intrigues: every whisper can betray you, every concession can prove to be a trap. Haklasser returns to his duchy bearing the weight of battles and wartime secrets, while Syenna has learned to move in the shadows within the hierarchy, teetering between hope and suspicion.

As the Emperor summons a legendary winter hunt to celebrate the arrival of an heir to the throne, duke and duchess find themselves forced to test their loyalty: Haklasser with honor marked by his weapons, Syennanovica with a dark legacy that could shift the fate of the Empire. In a realm still fragile and rife with conspiracies, mutual trust can become the most dangerous weapon of all.

"War Dances" is a novel of conflict and courtly intrigue, where winter's frost merges with the coldness of hearts, and the only path to survival is the hardest alliance of all: placing one's life in another's hands.

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"Silence is the subtlest and deadliest weapon, especially when used between two people living under the same roof."

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