There were two roads out of my life, the first is warm and bright.
His name is Aleksei. He's everything good the world can still make: a war hero who weeps at his enemies' funerals, the only man at court who talks to me like a person instead of a weapon. He offered me a house with apple trees, a breakfast table where no one is afraid of my hands. He offered to set me free. And the clean, ordinary part of me leaned toward it like grass toward the sun.
The other road is colder.
The Deathless King of the Pale Marches should be the thing I fear most. He's four hundred years of patient ruin, a man who cut out his own death and built a wall of the obedient dead at the edge of the world. He has done monstrous things, on purpose and he will do more. He never once pretends otherwise.
He's also the only creature in two kingdoms who has never lied to me. The only one who doesn't want to save me, or spend me, or shrink me down to a size his heart can afford. He looked at the heresy I've hidden my whole life, and instead of a leash, he offered a throne.
Everyone keeps telling me I wandered into the dark and got lost.
I didn't get lost. I read the whole board, weighed every cost, and chose.
A lush slow-burn fantasy romance steeped in Greek myth and Slavic folklore, for readers of morally black love stories where the heroine doesn't fall, she ascends.Formatted with high-readability fonts to ensure a smooth journey from the first page to the last.
Additionally, this book is printed on sustainable mechanical wood pulp paper to offer a softer reading experience and a reduced environmental footprint. Its tactile texture and superior opacity make the pages easier to read and turn. Choosing this edition you are helping reduce environmental impact, with at least 15% fewer CO₂ emissions compared to standard paper options.