In the medieval Kingdom of Vesa, the slum-born twins Kael and Ella are bought by the royal family as children and trained for fifteen years for one purpose alone: to serve as Prince Lucien’s shadow guards. On the night of the engagement banquet, Kael believes he is merely making another routine appearance as the prince’s double, but a cup of Southridge Red handed to him by his own sister sends him into the bed of Ronan, the chieftain of the northern wolf clan. When he wakes, he is naked, his neck burning hot, and is told that the real prince has long since died in a riding accident. Regent Dario threatens him with his sister’s life, forcing him to impersonate the prince and hold the alliance together within a month. Beneath the finery lies slow lead poisoning; upon the altar waits a gaze that has already seen through him. He is a shadow that has never belonged to himself, yet for the first time, the hand of a stranger presses real warmth against his skin.
