Summary
After her father’s scheme to install his son-in-law as king through a foreign rebellion fails, Deadache loses her fiancé but saves her family from ruin by agreeing to marry the emperor’s favored knight. Though a duke’s daughter views this as a downgrade, her new husband is Lucius Elliot—her former lover, forced apart years ago by her father’s cruel tactics. Lucius, once a passionate partner, was stripped of his title and lands after being exposed as illegitimate, then sent to the battlefield. Now reunited under reversed fortunes, Deadache wonders whether his cold demeanor stems from vengeance or remorse, as old wounds and misunderstandings resurface.