HEART OF SHADOWS

By: Aria Lyn Thorne

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

He was a monster. I was supposed to save him. We were never supposed to fall in love.

Kael Thorne deserves to die. At least, that's what everyone says.

A dragon rider fleeing corruption. A deserter from Valdren's war machine. A man whose bond to his dragon is slowly consuming his humanity, one scale at a time.

When he crashes on Commonwealth land, they assign me to keep him stable—document the bond, prevent the corruption, extract intelligence. I'm supposed to study him like a research subject.

Instead, I fall for him like a fool.

He fights the bond that demands he become a weapon. Chooses me over safety, again and again. Makes me believe impossible battles can be won with enough stubbornness and hope.

Then war explodes. Borders seal. And Kael vanishes back into enemy territory.

The reports arrive in waves: He rejoined Valdren. Burned a village. Murdered 372 people. He's become exactly what he swore he'd never be.

They sentence him to public execution. He claims innocence—swears he evacuated everyone, that the massacre was staged. But the evidence is damning. The bodies are real. And everyone calls him a liar desperate to avoid the axe.

Everyone except me.

Because I saw his eyes when he said "I'm telling the truth." And I saw those same eyes promise he'd never leave me.

Now I have to choose: Believe the evidence that condemns him, or trust the man I fell for against every logical reason.

Perfect for fans of Fourth Wing and A Court of Thorns and Roses

🐉 Dragon riders & forbidden bonds
⚔️ Enemies-to-lovers with forced proximity
💔 "He fell first, she fell harder"
🔥 War, betrayal & impossible sacrifices
✨ Execution interrupted by truth reveal
🗡️ Morally grey hero everyone thinks is evil

"The spice. The yearning. The dragons. Everything I needed." —Beta Reader