Only one bonded pair survives the Bloodbound Trials. Too bad Elara is tied-body, pulse, and every shiver of want-to the heir she swore to destroy.
When the Bloodmark chooses its candidates, pain and pleasure are shared across the bond. Elara enters the arena for revenge; Kael enters to inherit a crown. Bound together by the mark, every cut she takes burns him. Every heartbeat he misses steals her breath. If one dies, so does the other.
The Four Houses demand a champion. The Trials demand blood. Rivals sabotage, councils scheme, and the bond ignites into something neither of them can deny. To survive, they must fight as one-while the very magic tying them together threatens to shatter them apart.
Expect:
Enemies-to-lovers ➝ obsession ➝ desperationBlood-bonded pain/pleasure bleed (high stakes, high heat)Ruthless arena trials, court intrigue, and betrayalsConsent-on-page intimacy (18+), aftercare, and tendernessA found-purpose heroine and a fallen-heir hero who will burn empires to keep each other breathingHeat & Content: Open-door spice; violence and peril consistent with dark romantasy. Mature readers 18+.
Series: Book One of The Bloodbound Trials Saga. Satisfying ending with a promise of more.
Perfect for readers who love brutal trials, forced proximity, pulse-linked magic systems, and romance that's as dangerous as it is irresistible.