They kill without mercy, despise humans, and rule a forest so steeped in shadows and magic that no outsiders can survive there long. So when Novikke, a struggling soldier in the Ardanian army, is taken captive deep in night elf territory, she's sure she's as good as dead. To have any hope of surviving, she'll have to rely on her wits, her sword... and maybe the very enemy sworn to hate her. Her captor, Aruna, appears to be everything she feared: cold, otherworldly, and terrifyingly lethal. Yet instead of killing her, he shields her from his bloodthirsty kin. With war and deadly magic threatening both their kingdoms, the forbidden desire growing between them could force them to make an impossible choice. In a world divided by centuries of hatred, love could change everything... or destroy them both.