Mateo Taurasi and his family fled their island home when their people turned to sorcery. Mateo's own magic is tame but it's still banned in the Vaeringan Empire...and his family still use it every day in their cosy teahouse. The last thing they need is an Imperial barging in to catch them at it.
Luckily, Jonas just wants to offer them a trade deal too good to resist. As hard as he tries, Mateo begins to find the cheerfully charming Jonas too good to resist, too.
But an unfairly attractive Imperial is not Mateo's only problem. Rumours of sorcery loose in the city mean trouble for the Taurasi. With Jonas caught up in the mess, Mateo must investigate.
His family already lost their world once. Mateo can't let them lose again. Not even if it costs him the man he really wishes he didn't have feelings for.
C/w: explicit transm/m sex scenes