Eloita serves faithfully as a guard to Viscount and Viscountess Giles, even while she dreams of returning to her hometown. But when the viscount unexpectedly announces he’s moving his entire household to the “north,” Eloita suspects they may be returning to Woods Edge itself, nestled in the shadow of the dangerous and mysterious Sablewood. To make things more complicated, Eloita’s role places her in close proximity to an attractive nobleman. But if she wants to preserve her job and reputation, she knows she must avoid any romantic entanglements with him. This trip will be dangerous, she had no doubt. She just hopes the viscount isn’t up to something that will place him into danger she can’t protect him from. Cypriel has always been enchanted by tales of the Sablewood. So when his uncle assigns him to travel to a small village within its shadow alongside Viscount Giles, he is both annoyed and delighted--annoyed because the viscount is the worst kind of obsequious; delighted because he finally has the opportunity to discover the secrets of this mysterious forest.
To make things more complicated, one of the viscount’s guard’s is from the region, and he finds her intelligent, knowledgeable, and of course, beautiful. But he knows he’s being closely watched by the viscount. He has to be on his best behavior: no scheming, no shenanigans, and definitely no romance. Together, Eloita and Cypriel step into the unknown, where ancient woods whisper of forgotten magic, and their destinies intertwine with the secrets that lie in the heart of the Sablewood. As they venture deeper into a world neither of them fully understands, they must confront not only the mysteries of the forest but the truths within themselves.