She came to the Shadow Court with a stolen name and a borrowed smile. Her mission: seduce the king, earn his trust, and disappear before he learned the truth. Elara has spent years hiding what she is—a healer whose touch can unmake as easily as it mends. When the Shadow Court summons her as a political bride, she sees only an opportunity. The king is cursed. His court is crumbling. And someone powerful wants him dead before the next new moon. King Caelan knows she is lying. He has known since the moment her carriage crossed his gates. But he needs her lie to hold just long enough—because the real threat is not the assassin at his door. It is the vow that binds them both to a fate neither chose. Every stolen glance pulls them closer to ruin. Every truth they share makes the lies harder to keep. She came to destroy a king. She stayed because of the man beneath the crown. A dark romantasy of forced vows, forbidden magic, and the dangerous space between duty and desire.