Bound by Shadows

Some vows burn. The worst ones learn to live in shadow. Three months after the Ledger Fire, someone is forging Aurelia "Ria" Vale's signature onto new "laws" for the city—and making sure Cassian Rowe takes the blame. To stop a quiet takeover disguised as reform, Ria and Cassian share a roof, a plan, and the kind of honesty that hurts before it heals. In a city that confuses control for care, they'll bait the forger, rewrite the rules, and decide whether the house they built is a shelter…or a chain. What you'll get: enemies-to-only-you, forced proximity, knife-edge trust, found family that doesn't flinch, explicit boundary-setting, and a possessive antihero who learns restraint the hard way. What you won't: sexual violence or dub-con. Heat: high, always negotiated on-page. Read order: Book Four in the Bound Hearts series (Bound by Fire • The Ghost Between Us • Born from Ruin • Bound by Shadows). It can be read after a quick recap, but it lands harder in order. Themes: devotion vs. control, the cost of silence, law as mercy instead of leverage. When silence hardens into shadow, do you belong to the house—or does the house belong to you?