Ariyanna Valen is a sharp-tongued tavern maid desperate to escape an arranged marriage to a predatory baron. With nowhere else to turn, she does the unthinkable: enlists in the Embermarked, a holy military order sworn to protect the kingdom of Eryndane.

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There is only one problem. No woman has ever been known to survive the brutal training known as the Tempering—and nearly every man around Ari expects her to fail.

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Captain Kael Everen is cold, disciplined, and bound by sacred vows that leave no room for love. He should want Ari gone. Instead, he becomes the man teaching her how to survive, drawing them both toward a forbidden connection that could cost them their honor, their faith, and far more than either is prepared to sacrifice.