Reny Stonehelm is a master of quiet survival. In the small village of River's Edge, she has built a life she can control. A life that won't burn.
Until Rook Blackvale walks into her father's tavern. Devastatingly charming, unsettlingly perceptive, and carrying secrets darker than her own, Rook watches Reny like he's been hunting her.
Because he has been.
Dispatched by the very kingdom that shattered Reny's childhood, Rook is desperate to claim the power she carries: the echo of a forgotten goddess. A divine ember that could ignite a dying realm... or reduce it all to ash.
Even as shadow-forged monsters rise and a god of death claws free from a centuries-old prison, hungry for what she carries, Rook could be the greatest threat of all. Not because of his blade, but because he is the only one who forces her to burn.
The more he tries to capture the flame, the more it consumes him. Reny has no intention of being used or made a weapon.
Not for kingdoms. Not for men. Not even for gods.
The flame is hers alone. And once the ember catches, nothing will ever be the same.