The Frost King's Trial

Ten years ago, they burned the royal marks off my skin and left me for dead in the ice. Now, standing over my sixth kill in the brutal Frost Trials, a voice from the judges’ stand stops my heart: "Valen?" It’s Eliza—the enemy princess I was once promised to, and the only woman who can send me to the gallows with a single word. She offers a deadly trade: her silence for her freedom. I should kill her for the leverage she holds, but as the son of my family’s murderer steps into the arena to finish me off, Eliza is the only ally I have left. I am a mercenary with a crown of scars, forced to protect the woman who could destroy me at any moment, even as the heat between us threatens to melt my icy resolve. In a game of blood and betrayal, will I save the princess who holds my life in her hands, or will I let the North burn just to see my enemies fall?