Calandra’s five kingdoms are on the verge of destruction. The crux migration is coming. And in the wake of a devastating attack, I’ve been separated from the man who owns my heart.
I’m lost. Terrified. Homesick. Hunted by monsters, driven to exhaustion, and kidnapped by a powerful priest, the only thing keeping me going is the little girl counting on me to keep her safe. It’s my turn to become the Guardian.
Our lives change one fateful night. A night of death. A night of monsters. A night of truths. That night, I learn the real meaning of fear—and the depth of my own strength.
Everyone wants me to be something I’m not—a queen, a spy, a sacrifice. But what if I embrace my crown? What if the secrets I uncover save our realm?
What if my sacrifice means salvation for the man I love?
For too long, I’ve feared the monsters we make.
It’s time to discover the monster within.
Living in Dalton, Montana was not what I had planned for this winter. But after my father’s sudden death, I uprooted my life to move into his tiny, lakeside cabin and settle his estate. My friends tell me to sell his place and move on. But this winter is my chance to say goodbye. To remember a man who’d loved tales of Montana lore.
Taking a temporary teaching job seemed like the perfect way to keep myself busy on lonely days. Cleaning out the cabin should have been simple. Except the more I learn about my father’s life, the more questions I have about his death.
The last thing I need is a crush on Sheriff Cosi Raynes. Not only is his son my student, but his life is rooted in Montana, while mine is headed . . . anywhere else.
Yet as I uncover a trail of strange clues Dad left behind about a lost legend of Montana gold, staying away from Cosi is not an option. Neither is denying the attraction between us. And my winter of healing becomes a race for answers.
I came to Montana to bury the past. Now I’m falling for the man who might just be my future. And either I’ll solve this mystery. Or the person in Dalton determined to hide the truth will make sure I die trying.
The gods sent monsters to the five kingdoms to remind mortals they must kneel.
I’ve spent my life kneeling—to their will and to my father's. As a princess, my only duty is to wear the crown and obey the king.
I was never meant to rule. Never meant to fight. And I was never supposed to be the daughter who sealed an ancient treaty with her own blood.
But that changed the fateful day I stepped into my father’s throne room. The day a legendary monster hunter sailed to our shores. The day a prince ruined my life.
Now I’m crossing treacherous lands beside a warrior who despises me as much as I despise him—bound to a future I didn’t choose and a husband I barely know.
Everyone wants me to be something I’m not—a queen, a spy, a sacrifice.
But what if I refused the role chosen for me? What if I made my own rules? What if there’s power in being underestimated?
And what if—for the first time—I reached for it?