Traditional Indonesian Weapons

EXCERPT "Got you." His voice echoed above my head sending goosebumps up my spine as he pinned my wrist above my head. My pulse sped up as a traitorous and familiar heat began to appear between my legs. As if sensing the effect he had on me, his smirk widened, a devious glint appearing his his cold blue eyes. I shivered as I stared into those blue orbs that no longer held any warm affection. All that it held was raw hunger and an intense desire to possess that made me want to run. He was different. He was very dangerous. "Run again," he growled, thumb tracing the scar on my wrist—the one he’d kissed better a lifetime ago. "And I’ll chain you to my bed in the name of the man who owns you. "I’m not yours—" The rest of my words died down as he crushed his mouth to mine. His kiss wasn’t gentle—it was rough and held a lot of anger. I hated how my knees buckled. How my hands fisted in his shirt instead of shoving him away. BLURB Elena was wolfless. She was scorned, bullied, and named a jinx. She had accepted her fate and thought that she would be alone forever. Then he came. The Alpha King’s son. . He cut through her defenses and loved her like no one else did. Their bond grew stronger than any other every day, but good things never last. Dark secrets begin to get unlocked. Secrets that threaten to destroy Elena and everything that she is. Worse still, all those weapons in the form of secrets are closely related to her mate. Love turned to hate. Passion turned to fury. Will their bond, which once stood so firmly, stand the test of fate?

Xalara Silvyn, a seemingly powerless girl from the Shadowveil slums, is claimed as a fated mate by Cassian Holt, heir to a powerful noble house of ember magic. After being brought to his estate, she discovers their bond was merely Cassian's temporary fascination. At his engagement gala to Vionna Kress, he publicly betrays Xalara, relegating her to servitude under his cruel fiancée. As Vionna systematically humiliates Xalara, the crystal pendant Xalara found in a hidden chamber beneath the Veil becomes her sole comfort. With help from Cassian's brother Verin, she learns the crystal may connect to House Silvyn—a noble family of essence-based primal magic supposedly destroyed centuries ago. When Vionna arranges to transfer Xalara for potentially fatal bond severance after her wedding to Cassian, Xalara's desperate situation takes an unexpected turn. During the wedding feast, she encounters Lord Elaric Nox, a feared shadow magic tyrant avoiding political marriage proposals. After overhearing his frustrations with traditional arrangements, Xalara's impulsive quip "Where do I sign?" intrigues him. Elaric's emissaries arrive at the wedding with a formal offer—a contract marriage of mutual benefit. Elaric gains a shield against political marriage pressure while offering Xalara protection from Vionna and access to knowledge about her crystal and heritage. Their three-year contract specifies a purely practical arrangement with no emotional obligations. At House Nox, Xalara begins training in essence magic under Elaric's guidance, discovering her "minor" warming ability is actually rare primal magic thought extinct. As she awakens to her true abilities and learns about her possible connection to House Silvyn, the bond with Cassian naturally fades. Meanwhile, a complex but respectful dynamic develops between Xalara and Elaric as they navigate their unconventional arrangement.