Princess Ambrosia Lightbearer has spent years preparing for a role no one has thought to give her. She may never inherit the throne of Tanlen, but she knows she could make a damn good diplomat—if someone would finally give her the chance to prove it.

Her first assignment ends with her being kidnapped.

Terathion—Rath—is the half-devil mercenary sent to bring her home. Raised to believe his worth lies in how efficiently he can hurt people, Rath expects another job: find the princess, kill whoever stands in his way, and collect his pay. Instead, Ambrosia refuses to let the attack end her ambitions, and Rath finds himself accompanying her on a diplomatic mission that will take them far beyond Tanlen's borders.

As dangerous roads and uncertain alliances draw them closer, Ambrosia begins to see the man beneath the weapon, while Rath discovers that protecting her has become far more personal than any job he's ever accepted.

But Rath has spent a lifetime learning that loving something only gives the world another way to hurt you. When the past he escaped finally threatens the woman who has given him a reason to imagine a future, he will do whatever it takes to keep her safe—even if it means surrendering the life he has only just begun to want.

Ambrosia has spent too long letting other people decide what she is capable of.

She refuses to let Rath do it, too.