The black dragon was supposed to be dead. When Princess Marielle Ashbourne finds the fallen beast beyond the castle walls, every warning her mother ever gave her screams in her mind: dragons are monsters, dragons are murderers, dragons must never be saved. But the strange stone around Marielle's neck has other plans. With one touch, the dragon heals. With one breath, the beast becomes a man. Prince Kaelan Veyr is the feared Black Dragon of the North, a cursed royal shifter whose true form is a secret no witness has ever survived.
Marielle has seen him. Marielle has saved him. And now she knows the truth powerful kingdoms would kill to bury. Kaelan cannot let her go. So he offers her one impossible choice. Marry him. or die with his secret. Dragged into a court of fire, blood, betrayal, and ancient dragon magic, Marielle must survive a husband she fears, a mother who betrayed her, and enemies hunting the last dragons into extinction.
But the longer she stays beside Kaelan, the more she sees the truth behind the monster. He is dangerous. He is cursed. And he may be the only one who has ever tried to protect her. As the dragonstone awakens a forbidden power in Marielle's blood, she must decide whether to run from the beast everyone fears. or become the bride who saves him.
The black dragon was supposed to be dead. When Princess Marielle Ashbourne finds the fallen beast beyond the castle walls, every warning her mother ever gave her screams in her mind: dragons are monsters, dragons are murderers, dragons must never be saved. But the strange stone around Marielle's neck has other plans. With one touch, the dragon heals. With one breath, the beast becomes a man. Prince Kaelan Veyr is the feared Black Dragon of the North, a cursed royal shifter whose true form is a secret no witness has ever survived.
Marielle has seen him. Marielle has saved him. And now she knows the truth powerful kingdoms would kill to bury. Kaelan cannot let her go. So he offers her one impossible choice. Marry him. or die with his secret. Dragged into a court of fire, blood, betrayal, and ancient dragon magic, Marielle must survive a husband she fears, a mother who betrayed her, and enemies hunting the last dragons into extinction.
But the longer she stays beside Kaelan, the more she sees the truth behind the monster. He is dangerous. He is cursed. And he may be the only one who has ever tried to protect her. As the dragonstone awakens a forbidden power in Marielle's blood, she must decide whether to run from the beast everyone fears. or become the bride who saves him.
