He cannot touch you. He cannot desire you. And above all, he cannot love you.

Prince Lucien Valemont is the illigitimate son of the king, a gifted sorcerer, and the man whispered about throughout the kingdom as the Cursed Prince.

A forbidden curse transforms him into a mindless instrument of death whenever he experiences desire or genuine affection toward a woman. For years, Lucien has kept himself isolated behind the walls of his ancestral estate, choosing loneliness over the possibility of becoming a monster.

Then an ancient debt is called in.

You are sent to him as his bride.

You come from the Kingdom of Lorienne: Elegant, cultured and old, with its own sophisticated magical traditions. Your homeland.

Lucien intends to keep you at a distance. Separate chambers. No unnecessary contact. No affection. No exceptions.

Unfortunately for him, you're intelligent, stubborn, possessed of a strange untapped magic—and entirely unwilling to treat him like the monster everyone else believes him to be.

And Lucien has discovered something far more dangerous than desire:

He wants to know you.

The Kingdom of Veyrith:
Ancient, powerful, wealthy and steeped in forbidden magic. Ruled by House Valemont.