Of Blood and Ashes (Of Blood and Ashes 1)

A Maiden…

Chosen from birth to usher in a new era, Poppy's life has never truly been hers. The Maiden's life is solitary. She will never be touched. Never looked upon. Never spoken to. Never feel pleasure. As she awaits the day of her Ascension, she would rather be with the guards fighting the evil that took her family than preparing herself to be deemed worthy by the gods. But the choice has never been hers.

A duty...

The future of the entire kingdom rests on Poppy's shoulders, something she isn't even entirely sure she wants for herself. Because a Maiden has a heart. And a soul. And desire. And when Hawke, a golden-eyed guard sworn to ensure her Ascension, enters her life, destiny and duty intertwine with desire and need. He stirs her anger, makes her question everything she believes in, and tempts her with the forbidden.

A kingdom…

Abandoned by the gods and feared by mortals, a fallen kingdom is rising again, determined to reclaim what it believes is rightfully its own through violence and vengeance. And as the shadow of the damned draws nearer, the line between forbidden and right blurs. Poppy is not only on the verge of losing her heart and being deemed unworthy by the gods, but she is also on the verge of losing her life as the bloody threads that hold her world together begin to unravel.