Shadows Among
the Roses

Elain Archeron, the gentlest of her fierce sisters, has always moved through the world in a haze of tea and tending — until the shadowsinger's gaze finds her one dusk among the night-blooming jasmine. Azriel has watched her from the dark for seasons, believing himself unworthy of her quiet light, but when she finally sees the hunger in his eyes and pulls him inside without a word, the bond between them snaps taut. That night he worships every soft inch of her with trembling hands, his shadows holding the world at bay while she falls apart whispering his name like a prayer she has been saving her whole life.