Astrid has survived her entire life by staying silent. As a veiled priestess, she advises a nobleman who makes every decision for her. But when a letter arrives claiming her long-lost sister is alive and captured by the trolls, Astrid is ready to risk everything.
What she didn’t expect? Her nobleman is in debt. And he’s decided to pay it with her body.
Traded to the gladiator pits beneath the kingdom, Astrid is handed to a brutal troll warrior known only as the Bull. Massive. Silent. Deadly. He’s everything she’s been taught to fear, and the only one who might help her escape.
Bjorn has spent years shackled, forced to fight for human entertainment. But when a fragile human woman is gifted to him, begging for help, something ancient stirs in his blood. Honor. Purpose. Rage.
He breaks his chains for her.
Now they’re on the run through ancient wilds, cursed lands, and Bjorn’s broken homeland. But Astrid is hiding more than secrets behind her veil. Magic pulses beneath her skin. And Bjorn? He might not be the monster she was taught to fear... but the man fate never meant her to love.
The series
Beneath the surface of familiar fairy tales lies a shadowed world, steeped in forgotten bargains and the echoes of ancient magic. In this richly woven fantasy series, Emma Hamm reimagines the folklore we think we know—giving voice to the monsters beneath and the mortals who dare to love them.
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The story unfolds in an underworld shaped by both beauty and ruin, where creatures born of myth and curse guard their secrets fiercely. At its heart is a romance that defies kingdoms and curses, told with lyrical prose and an atmospheric pull that lingers long after the final page. There’s a haunting stillness to the world Hamm creates—a place where every whispered promise might come true, and every truth demands a price.
What sets this series apart is not just the allure of forbidden love or the pull of an ancient realm hidden below. It’s the depth of emotion stitched into every encounter, the way each character wrestles with their own darkness, and the slow-burning tension that simmers beneath every exchanged glance and shattered illusion.
Dark fantasy lovers will feel at home in this series’ ethereal gloom, where gothic romance and slow-burn intrigue collide in unexpected ways. It’s not about heroes and villains—it’s about choices, sacrifice, and the power of desire to reshape even the most cursed of fates.
If you're drawn to reimagined folklore, atmospheric world-building, and morally complex characters tangled in dangerous enchantments, this is a descent worth taking. Just be warned—the deeper you go, the harder it is to come back.
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