Sworn to celibacy and forged in the fires of battle, Sir Caelen lives by the unbreakable rules of the Iron Order—no wife, no desire, no weakness. But when he is sent to guard Lady Alinor, the sharp-witted daughter of a nobleman betrothed to another, his sacred vow begins to crack beneath the weight of longing.

Alinor has been raised to obey, to smile, to endure. Promised to a powerful man she neither trusts nor loves, she finds herself drawn to her quiet protector—the only one who sees her not as a symbol of alliance, but as a woman with a voice of her own.

As political tensions rise and betrayal strikes from within the very walls meant to keep her safe, the bond between Caelen and Alinor deepens into something neither can deny. But with an oath made in blood and a future carved by duty, their love becomes a dangerous rebellion.

In a world where honor binds and desire tempts, how far can two hearts go before the cost becomes too high?

Will he choose the vow that shaped him—or the woman who sets him free?