He burned her village to the ground. Now, she is his to command.

Kaelara Venn is a rebel blacksmith living on borrowed time. In a world ruled by the brutal Iron Concord—where metal is fused to bone and technology is heresy—she secretly guards the legacy of her murdered parents: a power that could remake the world or get her killed. Her life is a careful balance of fire, steel, and secrets.

That balance shatters when the Boneforged legion arrives. Leading them is Rhys Calderon, the empire's most ruthless commander and the masked ghost from her past. He doesn't want her life; he wants a vow. A political marriage to chain her to his side and crush the spirit of her people.

Dragged to the capital's brutalist heart, Kaelara becomes a pawn in the Forge-Lord's cruel game. Trapped in an unbreakable bond with the man she has sworn to kill, she discovers the monster in the mask is more complex than she ever imagined. He is a prisoner in his own armor, shackled by duties he despises and secrets that could unravel the entire empire.

The searing hatred between them slowly gives way to a dangerous, undeniable chemistry. Every stolen glance is a spark, every argument a caress. Their forced alliance could be the very thing that ignites a rebellion powerful enough to burn the Iron Concord to ashes. But to save the future, Kaelara must first confront her past, and decide if the man she's supposed to kill is the only one she can't bear to lose.

Fans of Sarah J. Maas, Rebecca Yarros, and Victoria Aveyard will be consumed by this gritty, high-stakes enemies-to-lovers fantasy. If you crave dystopian worlds, forbidden romance, and a heroine with a will of iron, your next obsession has arrived.