The Shadowbound Heart

The Shadowbound Heart She was meant to bring light to the world. Now, the darkness is her only hope. Elara, the most promising Sun-Adept in the shining Citadel of Astrea, is living on borrowed time. A catastrophic magical accident has cursed her with the accelerating Shadow-blight, a creeping obsidian decay that will consume her light—and her life—in a matter of weeks. Stripped of her power and exiled by the corrupt High Council she once served, Elara knows the devastating truth: the only prophecy that offers a cure points her toward the kingdom's greatest monster. Her desperate journey leads her to the dreaded Obsidian Fortress and into the presence of Rhys, the exiled Night-Walker. A man carved from lethal shadow and fueled by centuries of justified vengeance against the Sun-Adepts. He wants her dead, but the moment his frigid shadow magic touches her corrupted skin, they are bound. To save his own world from the chaos Elara's death would unleash, Rhys is forced into a brutal, reluctant alliance, tethering their opposing magic—and their warring minds—together. Now, fleeing the Solar Guard sent to execute them, Elara must learn to trust the terrifying discipline of the shadow while Rhys must confront the fragile, explosive chaos of her light. Their physical proximity is torment, their magical tether is a constant intrusion, and the truth they uncover is worse than any curse: the only way to stop the blight is to perform the ancient Soul-Knot, a total fusion that will merge their minds, their power, and their very existence into one eternal, inseparable entity. With the corrupt High Council closing in, Elara and Rhys must conquer their mutual hatred and surrender to an impossible love. But to save their world, they must first lose themselves completely in the terrifying, beautiful Twilight Core they create. A high-stakes fantasy romance perfect for readers who crave forced proximity, enemies-to-lovers, and the ultimate fated-mates magical bond.