Raised by a cult that worships obedience and blood, Nyxa Creed has never questioned an order—until she is sent to the palace as sworn protector to Princess Elowen Lysmere, with secret instructions to ensure the princess’s death. Elowen is not the fragile royal Nyxa expects. She is calculating, perceptive, and already aware that enemies surround her throne. As court politics tighten and a forced marriage looms, a forbidden bond begins to form between assassin and princess—one built on half-truth