When Mara Vale returns from Thornkeep with her heart removed, her younger sister Elara volunteers to become the second Rose Bride and enters the Beast King's fortress to avenge her. Poison and deception bring Elara close to Kael, but the permanent Beast King proves capable of law, restraint, and a tenderness she never expected. Their freely chosen blood pact creates an heir and uncovers the real enemy: a sacred barrier powered by generations of murdered women. To honor Mara, Elara must decide whether revenge ends with another sacrifice or with the destruction of the system itself
