Blood. Grit. Honour.
Those are the Guardian’s Guild words. For the past five years, trapped in the underground Vesperian fighting Pits designed to turn even the most innocent of boys into hardened killers, that witless mantra is all that Draxler Druen has ever known. Light, warmth, and love have all become things of the past. And when his best friend Grant Petruchio is convicted of the crime of trying to escape the Pits, hope threatens to die with him.
Princess. Healer. Murderess.
As the daughter of the Lord Elder Rose, the most powerful and ruthless man in the realm, Azalea Rose knows what true suffering feels like. It’s why the gods have given her a curse and a gift一the power to take other people’s pain away with a single touch. But when she is attacked while working as a healer by an injured soldier starved for her blood’s numbing properties, she accidentally murders him in an effort to save herself, setting off a series of unforeseeable events.
An ancient promise forged in blood.
Despite their shared childhood, Draxler and Aza have had nothing to do with each other for the past five years. That is, until the Blood Oath. Suddenly, for Draxler, the threat of becoming a monster if he survives the Vesperian deathmatches pales in comparison to what will happen if the Lord Elder Rose gets his way and the Blood Oath isn’t fulfilled.
Two lives intertwined by magic.
In the end, the choice that Draxler is forced to make is simple; die for what he believes in, or kill for the girl he loves. And no matter what he chooses, blood will rain.
{Original cover art credit goes to Zelenia Pen under the name @P-Oenthera on wattpad}
Angelique Addo 