Ashes Under a Death Oath

The oath officer hunting Mara Venn crashes into her workshop, bleeding black magic from a vow that is eating his heart. Then the letters burn across his chest: Mara will die first—and she has only seventy-two hours left. Dax Rourke forces her into a shared death contract, using his access mark to drag her into the sealed undercity while she uses the medicine keeping him alive. Every lie binds them tighter, every touch makes the pain spread, and the ruthless enforcer she swore to hate keeps saving her like he’s terrified to lose her. But Mara soon discovers Dax once took the blame for her sister’s death—and her sister’s final vow has named Mara the target of the city’s next hunt. Will Mara break Dax’s black vow before it kills them both, or uncover the truth that could make her the first person he must execute?