Scarlet

**Story updates every Wednesday at 12:00 PM EST.**

Magic is dead in Redwyne.

At least, that's what the Baron would like everyone to believe. He's planning something, tracking down families descended from powerful magical bloodlines and having his assassins steal them away in the middle of the night.

Lyra Ashcombe was never meant to be nobility. Descended from a powerful magical bloodline and far too brutally honest to ever survive the politics of court, she returns from years of exile only to be thrown into an arranged marriage with the leader of the Baron's mysterious assassins. Bound by a debt she can't put off any longer, and the threat of her brother being sent to the front lines, she must play the part of the dutiful bride.

Vale Corbyn walks a knife's edge of carefully constructed half-truths. Known across Redwyne as "The Scarlet Assassin," he's ruthless, nameless, and unwaveringly loyal to the Baron. Marriage is just another move in the long game he's playing, a sacrifice he's reluctantly willing to make. Gifted with the power of foresight, Vale has been having visions of Lyra for weeks. When the Baron forces his hand on the matter of marriage, her name is the only one that comes to his mind.

But Lyra is naturally suspicious, and Vale has many secrets. As the Baron's web of deception continues to unravel around them, two things become apparent: the first is that Vale's reluctance to tell Lyra the full truth might be the downfall of all their plans. The second is that the Baron's arrangement might also be his greatest mistake - a woman with a spine of steel, who has every reason to kill him, and his most lethal weapon, completely devoted to her.

**DISCLAIMER: This book is a work in progress. It is what I refer to as a "vomit draft." There will be plot holes, minor misspellings, and mispunctuation. But I promise you, the vibes are there. And I would love to hear your thoughts. I aim to polish and publish after the first draft is done.**