A mercenary with secrets. An assassin raised to be a weapon. A love that was never meant to survive.

Nix Zaldanna has never been given a choice. As the infamous Nightshade of Rojas, she was forged in blood and sharpened into an instrument of death, a blade wielded by the Empress she calls mother. But when she's captured by the enemy king and left to rot in his dungeons, she waits for a rescue that never comes.

Her salvation arrives instead in the form of Malakai-a Hada warrior with a reputation as brutal as her own and a past shrouded in as many secrets. But Malakai isn't there to free her. He's there to use her. And when the truth of who sent him comes to light, Nix is faced with an impossible truth: the war she was raised to fight may not be as black and white as she believed.

Betrayed by the empire that made her and bound to a mercenary she doesn't trust, Nix must decide whether to burn for the future she was promised or forge a new one in the ashes of the lies she's been told.

Perfect for fans of The Bridge Kingdom, The Shadows Between Us, and An Ember in the Ashes-We Were Meant to Burn is a slow-burn fantasy romance filled with betrayal, found family, and an enemies-to-lovers tension that will leave you breathless.

Meena’s reading vibes: Best read with stormy skies outside and a candle flickering beside you… because some stories demand to be devoured in the dark 🩸🕯️