Description

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A young woman far from home.
An enigmatic new husband.
A strange world full of danger...and some of it might be familiar.

Falling into a different world isn't one of Aderes's lifegoals. Marrying a stranger certainly isn't. But when one misstep sends her crashing into a completely different world, she isn't given much of a choice. The people of Karkhana don't accept visitors. As if being forbidden from returning home isn't enough, Aderes finds herself forced into marriage to a guard of the local lord. Her new husband swears to protect her, to teach her how to live in his world...but he won't let her return to her family.
Gaiseric wasn't looking for a wife. He is woefully unprepared for Aderes, particularly when she proves to be nothing like he expected. Between grief over the loss of her family and her gentle spirit, Gaiseric worries that his world will crush her completely...especially if his master discovers that Aderes knows more about these strange portals than she's saying. But which bond is stronger: his oaths to his master, or his marriage vows to Aderes?
Aderes and Gaiseric weren't prepared for their lives to be thrown together. But even if they can make their marriage work, other dangers threaten to tear them apart. Aderes isn't the first person to fall into Karkhana with no way home. There are darker powers at play around them, enemies that might recognize Aderes as more than Gaiseric's foreign wife. And they're growing impatient.
Aderes has to decide: can she trust Gaiseric with the truth about her family? Can she trust him with her heart?