To Break a Vow: A Slow Burn Fantasy Romance (The Soulmark Cycle)

Their match was meant to serve the Empire. Instead, it may destroy it. Sabine Almarien has survived on cleverness and careful obscurity. But when a mark appears on her skin—one said to bind her to a magically perfect match—the Empire forces her into the Season: a cruel marriage mart where blood vows determine magical power. Azrian Vaelros—the Emperor's ruthless enforcer—has buried one wife already. He has no interest in another blood vow, least of all with a maddening woman who despises everything he represents. To survive the Season, Sabine and Azrian strike a careful bargain: fake a courtship to satisfy imperial scrutiny, while quietly searching for a way out of their arranged marriage. But when other marked couples turn up dead, the two of them are drawn into a shared investigation that binds them closer than either intended. Each truth pulls them deeper into each other's orbit... and into a conspiracy at the heart of the Empire itself. As their blood vow approaches, they'll have to choose: become the perfect weapon the Empire demands, or forge something far more dangerous.